本篇文章共分 9 段，從口哨語言 Silbo Gomero 所存在的地理區域開始，探討這種具有傳達複雜內容的口哨語言的構成與源頭，並以其對於當地居民生活的重要性說明目前該地區對此進行文化保存的作法與效果。

本篇考題英文原文與對應之中文翻譯整理如下。練習作答解題時若有對語意不清楚之處，請仔細查閱對照，以提升閱讀理解能力。

Silbo Gomero – the whistle 'language' 西爾博-戈梅羅—口哨「語言」

1. 因特殊地形產生的口哨語言

   La Gomera is one of the Canary Islands situated in the Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of Africa. This small volcanic island is mountainous, with steep rocky slopes and deep, wooded ravines, rising to 1,487 metres at its highest peak. It is also home to the best known of the world’s whistle ‘languages’, a means of transmitting information over long distances which is perfectly adapted to the extreme terrain of the island.

   拉戈梅拉是加那利群島之一，位於非洲西北海岸的大西洋上。這個小火山島多山，有陡峭的岩石坡和樹木茂盛的深谷，最高峰位於海拔 1487 米處。它也是世界上最著名的口哨「語言」的故鄉，這是一種遠距離傳輸訊息的方法，完全適應該島的極端地形。

2. 口哨語言與大腦功能

   This ‘language’, known as ‘Silbo’ or ‘Silbo Gomero’ – from the Spanish word for ‘whistle’ – is now shedding light on the language-processing abilities of the human brain, according to scientists. Researchers say that Silbo activates parts of the brain normally associated with spoken language, suggesting that the brain is remarkably flexible in its ability to interpret sounds as language.

   這種「語言」被稱為 “Silbo” 或 “Silbo Gomero”—來自西班牙語中的「口哨」一詞—據科學家稱，現在正在揭示人類大腦的語言處理能力。研究人員說，Silbo 激活了大腦中通常與口語相關的部分，顯示大腦在將聲音解釋為語言的能力方面具有明顯的靈活性。

3. 語言信號的範圍

   ‘Science has developed the idea of brain areas that are dedicated to language, and we are starting to understand the scope of signals that can be recognised as language,’ says David Corina, co-author of a recent study and associate professor of psychology at the University of Washington in Seattle.

   最近一項研究的共同作者、西雅圖華盛頓大學心理學副教授大衛．科里納說：「科學已經發展出專門用於語言的大腦區域的概念，我們開始瞭解可以被識別為語言的信號的範圍。」

4. Silbo 口哨語言的構成

   Silbo is a substitute for Spanish, with individual words recoded into whistles which have high- and low-frequency tones. A whistler – or silbador – puts a finger in his or her mouth to increase the whistle’s pitch, while the other hand can be cupped to adjust the direction of the sound. ‘There is much more ambiguity in the whistled signal than in the spoken signal,’ explains lead researcher Manuel Carreiras, psychology professor at the University of La Laguna on the Canary island of Tenerife. Because whistled ‘words’ can be hard to distinguish, silbadores rely on repetition, as well as awareness of context, to make themselves understood.

   Silbo 是西班牙語的一種替代品，個別單詞被重新編碼為具有高低頻音調的口哨聲。吹口哨的人—或 Silbador —把一根手指放在嘴裡以提高口哨的音調，而另一隻手可以形成杯狀以調整聲音的方向。「吹口哨的信號比說話的信號有更多的模糊性，」首席研究員曼努埃爾．卡雷拉斯解釋說，他是加那利島拉古納大學的心理學教授。由於口哨聲中的「單字」很難區分，所以吹口哨的人依靠反複發聲以及對背景的認知來讓自己的意思被人理解。

5. 口哨語言的重要性

   The silbadores of Gomera are traditionally shepherds and other isolated mountain folk, and their novel means of staying in touch allows them to communicate over distances of up to 10 kilometres. Carreiras explains that silbadores are able to pass a surprising amount of information via their whistles. ‘In daily life they use whistles to communicate short commands, but any Spanish sentence could be whistled.’ Silbo has proved particularly useful when fires have occurred on the island and rapid communication across large areas has been vital.

   戈梅拉島的 silbadores 傳統上是牧羊人和其他與世隔絕的山民，他們保持聯繫的新方法使他們能夠在長達 10 公里的距離內進行交流。卡雷拉斯解釋說， silbadores 能夠通過他們的口哨傳遞大量令人驚訝的信息。「在日常生活中，他們用口哨來傳達簡短的命令，但任何西班牙語句子都可以用口哨來表達。」事實證明，當島上發生火災時，Silbo 特別有用，大面積的快速通訊是至關重要的。

6. 大腦對於口哨語言的反應

   The study team used neuroimaging equipment to contrast the brain activity of silbadores while listening to whistled and spoken Spanish. Results showed the left temporal lobe of the brain, which is usually associated with spoken language, was engaged during the processing of Silbo. The researchers found that other key regions in the brain’s frontal lobe also responded to the whistles, including those activated in response to sign language among deaf people. When the experiments were repeated with non-whistlers, however, activation was observed in all areas of the brain.

   研究小組使用神經成像設備，對比了 silbadores 在聽口哨和說西班牙語時的大腦活動。結果顯示，通常與口語有關的大腦左顳葉在處理 Silbo 時參與其中。研究人員發現，大腦額葉的其他關鍵區域也對口哨聲做出反應，包括那些對聾人手語做出反應的區域。然而，當對不吹口哨的人重複實驗時，在大腦的所有區域都觀察到激活反應。

7. 大腦激活區域的差異

   ‘Our results provide more evidence about the flexibility of human capacity for language in a variety of forms,’ Corina says. ‘These data suggest that left-hemisphere language regions are uniquely adapted for communicative purposes, independent of the modality of signal. The non-Silbo speakers were not recognising Silbo as a language. They had nothing to grab onto, so multiple areas of their brains were activated.’

   科里納說：「我們的結果提供了更多關於人類在各種形式下的語言能力的靈活性的證據。這些數據顯示，大腦左半球的語言區域為交流目的進行了獨特的調整，與信號的模式無關。非 Silbo 語者沒有認識到 Silbo 是一種語言。他們沒有抓到任何東西，所以他們大腦的多個區域被激活。」

8. Silbo 口哨語言的發源

   Carreiras says the origins of Silbo Gomero remain obscure, but that indigenous Canary Islanders, who were of North African origin, already had a whistled language when Spain conquered the volcanic islands in the 15th century. Whistled languages survive today in Papua New Guinea, Mexico, Vietnam, Guyana, China, Nepal, Senegal, and a few mountainous pockets in southern Europe. There are thought to be as many as 70 whistled languages still in use, though only 12 have been described and studied scientifically. This form of communication is an adaptation found among cultures where people are often isolated from each other, according to Julien Meyer, a researcher at the Institute of Human Sciences in Lyon, France. ‘They are mostly used in mountains or dense forests,’ he says. ‘Whistled languages are quite clearly defined and represent an original adaptation of the spoken language for the needs of isolated human groups.’

   卡雷拉斯說 Silbo Gomero 的起源仍然模糊不清，但是當西班牙在 15 世紀征服火山島時，來自北非的加那利島民已經有了一種口哨語言。吹口哨的語言今天在巴布亞新幾內亞、墨西哥、越南、圭亞那、中國、尼泊爾、塞內加爾和南歐的一些山區地區仍然存在。據認為有多達 70 種口哨語言仍在使用，儘管只有 12 種被描述和加以科學研究過。法國里昂人類科學研究所的研究員朱利安．邁耶說，這種交流形式是在人們經常相互隔絕的文化中發現的一種適應現象。「他們大多在山區或密林中使用，」他說。「口哨語言的定義相當清晰，代表了口語對孤立的人類群體的需求的一種原始適應。」

9. Silbo 的文化保存

   But with modern communication technology now widely available, researchers say whistled languages like Silbo are threatened with extinction. With dwindling numbers of Gomera islanders still fluent in the language, Canaries’ authorities are taking steps to try to ensure its survival. Since 1999, Silbo Gomero has been taught in all of the island’s elementary schools. In addition, locals are seeking assistance from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). ‘The local authorities are trying to get an award from the organisation to declare [Silbo Gomero] as something that should be preserved for humanity,’ Carreiras adds.

   但是，隨著現代通信技術的廣泛使用，研究人員說，像 Silbo 這樣的口哨語言正面臨著滅絕的威脅。隨著戈梅拉島居民中仍能流利使用這種語言的人數不斷減少，加那利群島當局正在採取措施，試圖確保其生存。自 1999 年以來，島上所有的小學都在教授 Silbo Gomero 語。此外，當地人正在尋求聯合國教育、科學及文化組織 (UNESCO) 的援助。卡雷拉斯補充說：「地方當局正試圖從該組織獲得一個獎項，以宣佈 [Silbo Gomero] 是應該為人類保留的東西。」