(Patrice has a bit of mic trouble around 9 minutes in, but stay tuned — this episode is a doozy!)
If you’re anything like us, you had no clue there were over 50 whistling languages! Maybe you don’t even know what is meant by “whistling language,” but don’t fret! In this episode we talk about how these languages work, why they were developed, and then look at a few examples.
In Language News this week, we take a look at a New York Times opinion piece about new laws that allow computer coding to replace language studies in US schools. This is a hot-button issue with great points on both sides, and it will only become more relevant. What side of the debate do you land on?
Here’s some further reading from the resources we used this week:
- Computer Coding as a foreign language: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/17/opinion/code-foreign-language.html
- General information about whistling languages and examples: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistled_language
- Resources on Sfyria (from Greece): https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/ancient-whistling-language-grave-danger-dying and https://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2017/08/02/sfyria-whistled-language-evia/
- Turkey’s whistling language (Kuş) celebrated by a festival: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0aoguO_tvI
- Sylbo from the Canary Islands: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0CIRCjoICA and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KNIDJTTR7c
- NPR report of Yupik, from the Alaska region: https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4713068
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