Jennifer Balade (1) y Lucía Manso-Ortega (2)
(1) Dept. de Psicología Evolutiva y de la Educación, Universidad de La Laguna, España
(2) Dept. de Lengua Vasca y Comunicación, Universidad del País Vasco, España
(cc) Jennifer Balade.
On a small volcanic island in the Canary archipelago, shepherds of La Gomera have been whistling across ravines for centuries. These are not arbitrary sounds but a structured form of communication, a natural language encoded in whistles. Silbo Gomero presents a fascinating challenge for neuroscience: can the brain process whistles like words? Neuroimaging studies show that, in trained speakers, this language activates the same brain areas involved in speech. Silbo also testifies to a community that transformed its landscape into a communication channel, proving that language lives not only in the brain but also in culture.
