Whistled Languages

The main focus of this monograph on whistled speech is the result of a worldwide inquiry primarily based on the author s unprecedented fieldwork and laboratory experience. He explores the different questions raised by the origin and the evolution of whistled forms of languages: the role of environmental constraints in the emergence of whistled speech, monogenesis and polygenesis scenarios, the hypothesis of a whistled system preceding voiced speech, and the convergence/divergence with whistled communication among animals (birds, dolphins and primates).§§This book also includes several documents and a chapter prepared in collaboration with René-Guy Busnel, a pioneer in the studies of whistled forms of languages who has worked with five different populations using whistled speech (from the late 60s to the early 90s).§§The author has been intensively studying this fascinating language phenomenon for the past 12 years, including 30 months of onsite research in collaboration with the cultural representatives of approximately twenty linguistic communities around the world.§§Whistled speech represents an ancient traditional telecommunication system that has survived on all inhabited continents of our planet. For some local languages this endangered speech register is one of many modes of expression.§§Whistling does not replace but instead complements ordinary speech, often under different circumstances. It profoundly modifies the phonetic system of the local speech: the voice is replaced by a whistle, which carries the information. Therefore, whistled speech is adapted both to the structure of each language and to the articulatory constraints of whistling. The advantage of this procedure, from the user s perspective, is not only a vastly increased audible range but also, under certain circumstances, a degree of secrecy in dealings with outsiders. Moreover, similarly to singing, this richly traditional practice sheds light on the intricate relationship between music and language. Whistled speech is also a good candidate for reflecting on specific cognitive aspects of language processing.§The general structure of the book makes it accessible to both general readers and specialists in various fields, with a primary emphasis on linguistic, acoustic, cognitive, ethnologic and environmental features.