Hello Language Lovers and thank you for joining me for this episode of Speaking Tongues. Today, we’re talking about a language that I have really wanted to feature on the show for a long time! Gara is joining us from Tenerife to talk about Silbo Canario and Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands. With a deep passion for preserving and promoting the unique linguistic heritage of her homeland, Gara brings a wealth of knowledge and firsthand experience to our conversation.

Gara shares her knowledge about how this form of whistled communication varies across different parts of the Canary Islands and even draws connections to similar practices in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. We uncover how whistled language conveys information over vast distances and how it was nearly lost to a recent generation who stopped whistling due to economic changes. 

In this episode, Gara shows us how to whistle and the postures and placements that we use when we’re whistling. She gives us some examples of what she’s learned to say and she even tells us about the people in El Hierro island who are working to preserve Silbo Canario and the measures they are able to take to teach people who want to learn. 

We also dive into the distinctive features of Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands. Gara shares insightful comparisons to Caribbean Spanish, highlighting the fascinating linguistic and cultural influences that shape the way Spanish is spoken in these regions.

Thank you to Gara for having this conversation with us in English and for sharing your heritage and your languages with all of us. If you enjoy this episode of Speaking Tongues, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review the Speaking Tongues Podcast on Apple Podcasts and like and subscribe on YouTube so that other language lovers like ourselves can find the show! If you’ve been a long time listener of the show or a recent listener, you can now pledge ongoing support for the show on Buy Me a Coffee dot com or on Patreon dot com. And as you know, I wrote a book! My food ‘zine of international language and cuisine, Taste Buds Vol 1. is available now for purchase! Check social media for the sneak peek inside of the book and make sure you purchase for yourself and your friends! Links to all platforms are below! 

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