Editing Whistled language (section)

== Causes of whistled language development ==

=== Ecology ===
Whistled languages have naturally developed in response to the necessity for humans to communicate in conditions of relative isolation, with possible causes being distance, noise levels, and night, as well as specific activities, such as social information, shepherding, hunting, fishing, courtship, or shamanism.<ref name="Asher, R. E. 1994"/> Because of this usage, they are mostly related to places with mountains or dense forests. Southern China, Papua New Guinea, the Amazon forest, Subsaharan Africa, Mexico, and Europe encompass most of these locations.

They have been more recently found in dense forests like the Amazon where they may replace spoken dialogue in the villages while hunting or fishing to overcome the pressure of the acoustic environment.<ref name=Meyer2005/><ref name=Meyer2008>{{cite journal |last1=Meyer |first1=Julien |title=Typology and acoustic strategies of whistled languages: Phonetic comparison and perceptual cues of whistled vowels |journal=[[Journal of the International Phonetic Association]] |date=2008 |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=69–94 |doi=10.1017/S0025100308003277 |id={{ProQuest|224991437}} |jstor=44526964 |s2cid=55852067}}</ref> The main advantage of whistling speech is that it allows the speaker to cover much larger distances (typically {{convert|1|-|2|km}} but up to {{convert|5|km|abbr=on}} in mountains and less in reverberating forests) than ordinary speech, without the strain (and lesser range) of shouting. More specifically, whistle speech can reach a loudness of 130&nbsp;dB, and the transmission range can reach up to 10&nbsp;km (as verified in La Gomera, Canary Island).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Meyer |first1=Julien |title=Bioacoustics of human whistled languages: an alternative approach to the cognitive processes of language |journal=Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências |date=June 2004 |volume=76 |issue=2 |pages=406–412 |doi=10.1590/s0001-37652004000200033 |pmid=15258658 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The long range of whistling is enhanced by the mountainous [[terrain]] found in areas where whistled languages are used. Many areas with such languages work hard to preserve their ancient traditions, in the face of rapidly advancing telecommunications systems in many areas.

=== Culture ===
In some cases (e.g. Chinantec) the whistled speech is an important and integral part of the language and culture; in others (e.g. Nahuatl) its role is much lesser. Whistled speech may be very central and highly valued in a culture. Shouting is very rare in [[Sochiapam Chinantec]]. Men in that culture are subject to being fined if they do not handle whistle-speech well enough to perform certain town jobs. They may whistle for fun in situations where spoken speech could easily be heard.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sochiapam Chinantec Whistle Speech {{!}} SIL Mexico |url=https://mexico.sil.org/language_culture/chinantecan/sochiapam/sochiapam_whistle |access-date=2023-05-25 |website=mexico.sil.org}}</ref> 

In [[Sochiapam]], [[Oaxaca]], and other places in Mexico, and reportedly in West and Southern Africa as well (specifically among the VhaVenda), whistled speech is men's language: although women may understand it, they do not use it.

Though whistled languages are not secret [[code (cryptography)|codes]] or [[language game|secret languages]] (with the exception of a whistled language used by [[ñañigos]] [[Insurgency|insurgencies]] in [[Cuba]] during [[History of Cuba#Conquest of Cuba|Spanish occupation]]),<ref name=Busnel1976/> they may be used for secretive communication among outsiders or others who do not know or understand the whistled language though they may understand its spoken origin. Stories are told of farmers in Aas during [[World War II]], or in La Gomera, who were able to hide evidence of such nefarious activities as milk-watering because they were warned in whistle-speech that the police were approaching.<ref name=Busnel1976/>

=== Documentation ===
Various documentation, conservation, and revitalization effort are ongoing. In France, the whistling of [[Whistled language of Aas|Aas]] is being systematically audio-recorded using [[Open-source software|open source]] [[Lingua Libre]]. Those recordings have been used to create an interactive maps of Occitan villages names.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lopez |first=Hugo Pierre |last2=Montagne |first2=Delphine |date=June 2024 |title=Adiu ! Quand l'union des communs fait la force du patrimoine immatériel |url=https://hal.science/hal-04628915 |journal=State of the Map France 2024 |location=Lyon, France |publisher=OpenStreetMap France}}</ref>