Drugie życie silbo gomero – jak edukacja, turystyka i sztuka przyczyniły się do ocalenia gwizdanego języka z Gomery

Abstract

THE SECOND LIFE OF SILBO GOMERO – THE CONTRIBUTION OF EDUCATION, TOURISM AND ART TO SAVING THE WHISTLED LANGUAGE OF THE ISLAND OF LA GOMERA

Silbo gomero is a whistled language used by inhabitants of La Gomera (Canary Islands) and created before the arrival of Spanish settlers to overcome communication problems resulting from the deep ravines and narrow valleys that radiate through the island. The language, commonly used in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, declined in the 1950s–1980s due to economic migration, the growth of tourism and technological developments e.g. the telephone. Since the language was endangered in the late 1990s, revitalization efforts were generated at both community and governmental level. Nowadays, tourism is not a threat to silbo gomero; it’s seen as a great opportunity and as a generator of both employment and income. Unlike other islands in the archipelago, La Gomera focuses on natural resource-based tourism and cultural tourism and silbo gomero seems to be an ideal magnet for tourists looking for something more than the beach and the sun.