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

 

1

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 Isle¹ 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 vowels², four consonants³ 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 deafening⁴, 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 reverberates⁶ 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

reverberate⁵ (v) [ri5vE:bEreit] to continue to be heard around an area so that the area seems to shake (referring to a loud sound)

 

Specialized⁷ 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

 

1

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。

1 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。

2 vowels   

n.元音，元音字母( vowel的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Vowels possess greater sonority than consonants. 元音比辅音响亮。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Note the various sounds of vowels followed by r. 注意r跟随的各种元音的发音。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

3 consonants   

n.辅音，子音( consonant的名词复数 )；辅音字母

参考例句：

• Consonants are frequently assimilated to neighboring consonants. 辅音往往被其邻近的辅音同化。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Vowels possess greater sonority than consonants. 元音比辅音响亮。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 deafening   

adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The noise of the siren was deafening her. 汽笛声震得她耳朵都快聋了。
• The noise of the machine was deafening. 机器的轰鸣声震耳欲聋。

5 reverberate   

v.使回响，使反响

参考例句：

• The decision will reverberate and will jar the country.这项决定将引起反响并震撼这个国家。
• Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in my hear.痛苦呼喊的一遍遍的在我的心中回响。

6 reverberates   

回响，回荡( reverberate的第三人称单数 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射

参考例句：

• His voice reverberates from the high ceiling. 他的声音自天花板顶处反射回来。
• No single phrase of his reverberates or penetrates as so many of La Bruyere's do. 他没有一个句子能象拉布吕耶尔的许多句子那样余音回荡，入木三分。

7 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。