彭蒙惠英语：Spreading the World… Silbo Style

Spreading the World… Silbo Style

By Susan Zimmerman

Discovering an ancient whistling language on a tropical Atlantic island

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All eyes and ears are upon teacher Isidro Mendoza when he enters the classroom. The fifth graders sit waiting, watching for his first move. With a quick motion he bends the index finger on his left hand, puts it in his mouth and emits a piercing whistle. Class is in session . . . Silbo style.

Mendoza is old enough to be these students’ grandfather, and when he whistles, they listen. He’s been “speaking” this musical language since he was 5 years old. Today, Mendoza is passing it on to the next generation on the Canary Isle 1 of La Gomera, a remote island off the western coast of North Africa. La Gomera is the only place in the world where the Silbo Gomero language is “spoken.”

Teaching students how to whistle?

Mendoza is one of two teachers breathing new life into this 2,500-year-old language, complete with four vowels 2, four consonants 3 and a 4,000-word vocabulary. This irreplaceable cultural heritage was nearly extinct before it was made part of the school curriculum in 1999. Thanks to Mendoza and his colleague, some 3,000 students—aged 6 to 14—now get an earful once a week.

Seeing a Silbo class in action is eye opening, not to mention deafening 4, in a small room with a whistle that can travel up to two miles. Mendoza whistles to a boy sitting in front, who listens, grins, then gets up and hands his backpack to me. Though everyone laughs at this simple gesture, it’s obvious that the student understood the whistled message loud and clear. The room reverberates 6 with whistles for the next 30 minutes as teacher and students take turns putting their fingers in their mouths to “speak.”

Vocabulary Focus

emit (v) [i5mit] to produce or send out something such as a beam, noise, smell or gas

breathe new life (idiom) to bring new ideas and energy to

reverberate 5 (v) [ri5vE:bEreit] to continue to be heard around an area so that the area seems to shake (referring to a loud sound)

Specialized 7 Terms

index finger (n phr) 食指 the finger next to the thumb

席尔波式的口哨传意

到一座大西洋的热带岛屿，一探古老的口哨语言

杨嘉倩 译

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当艾希卓·曼铎沙进入教室时，所有小朋友的眼睛和耳朵都全神贯注在老师的身上。5年级这一班坐在那儿等待并注视着他的第一个动作。很快地，他把左手的食指弯起，放进嘴里，然后发出一声尖锐的口哨声。开始上课！用的是席尔波独特的方式！

曼铎沙的年纪已经大到可以当这些学生的祖父。当他吹口哨的时候，他们都会仔细聆听。曼铎沙从五岁大的时候，就开始用这种音乐语言与人沟通。现在，曼铎沙在北非西岸外加纳利群岛里偏僻的哥梅拉岛上，将它传给下一代。哥梅拉岛是世界上惟一仍在“讲”席尔波语的地方。

教学生如何吹口哨？

有2位老师为这具有2500年历史，有4个元音，4个子音，以及4000个词汇的语言注入新生命，曼铎沙就是其中的一位。在1990年被编入学校课程之前，这项无可取代的文化遗产已几近消失。多亏有了曼铎沙和他的同事，一群6-14岁，大约3000名左右的学生才得以每周一饱耳福。

看一堂席尔波语的课让人大开眼界，更别提在一间小教室里充斥着可传到2英里远的口哨声的状况，那简直震耳欲聋。曼铎沙对着一个坐在前排的小男孩吹了一声口哨，那小男孩听了之后露齿而笑，然后站起来把他的背包拿给我。虽然每个人都笑着这个简单的动作，但是很明显地，这位学生十分正确并清楚地了解这个口哨所要传达的讯息。接下来的30分钟，老师和学生们轮流将手指放入口中来“交谈”，口哨声在教室中此起彼落。