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Topic: Whistled speech


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In the News (Thu 12 Nov 09)

  
  Whistled language -- Facts, Info, and Encyclopedia article   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-29)
Whistled language is telecommunication by (The act of whistling a tune) whistling, with or without a (Acoustic device that forces air or steam against an edge or into a cavity and so produces a loud shrill sound) whistle.
Whistled languages are found and used in locations with similarly abrupt relief created by difficult mountainous terrain, slow or difficult communication (no telephones), low population density and/or scattered settlements, and other isolating features such as sheepherding and cultivation of hillsides (ibid: 27-8).
The main advantage of whistling speech is that it allows to cover much larger distances (typically 1-2 (A metric unit of length equal to 1000 meters (or 0.621371 miles)) km but up to 5 km) than ordinary speech, and this is assisted by the relief found in areas where whistled languages are used.
www.absoluteastronomy.com /encyclopedia/W/Wh/Whistled_language.htm   (1051 words)

  
 Whistling - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Whistling can also be produced using an instrument (see whistle), some as simple as a blade of grass.
A whistled tone is a simple oscillation (or sine wave) produced in the resonant chamber, and thus timbral variations are impossible.
Some languages and code languages use whistles as a part of their communication; this is referred to as whistled speech.
en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Whistling   (559 words)

  
 Deer Whistles   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-29)
The whistle works by causing the smooth flow of air to be split by a narrow blade, sometimes called a fipple, creating a turbulent vortex which causes the air to vibrate.
A slide whistle (variously known as a swanee whistle, piston flute or less commonly jazz flute) is a wind instrument consisting of a fipple like a recorder's and a tube with a piston in it.
The slide whistle is most commonly used as a sound effect (such as in the sound tracks of animated cartoons, when a glissando can suggest something rapidly ascending or falling), but it is also possible to play melodies on the slide whistle.
www.wwwtln.com /finance/60/deer-whistles.html   (1502 words)

  
 Train Whistle   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-29)
A train whistle is a signaling device, on a train, locomotive, or the like, that makes a loud sound to warn pedestrians and motorists that a train is coming and to communicate with railroad workers on a train.
A train whistle is usually low in pitch, compared to similar mobile signaling devices on cars, trucks, bicycles, etc. The low pitch helps us mentally connect with the fact that the sound's source is large in size and weight.
Whistle stop train tour is an expression that was initially commonly used in political campaigns to signify a trip wherein the candidate makes many brief stops in small communities.
www.wwwtln.com /finance/182/train-whistle.html   (1648 words)

  
 Untitled Document
Whistling in the dark or whistling by the graveyard are meant to portray confidence when faced with fear or danger or defeat.
When whistling is used at all today - in radio and television commercials for P.C. Richard & Son or with the Wal-Mart smiley face - it's meant to imply success or happiness or a carefree spirit.
Defeat for the whistling champion is trying to whistle for a New York cab - the two fingers in the mouth and the ear- splitting shriek.
www.stevethewhistler.com /newsday2.html   (1893 words)

  
 LINGUIST List 12.419: Talking Drums & Whistled Speech
The main formants of the spoken word are imitated by the main frequency lines of the whistled words, so that the melody is regarded a characteristic of whistled speech.
The primary function of whistled speech appears to be long-distance communication, not secrecy; however, whistled speech is heard frequently in Antia at close quarters.
The whistles carry over longer distances than spoken words, so whistle speech is often used in the fields or from one mountain top to another.
www.ling.ed.ac.uk /linguist/issues/12/12-419.html   (1628 words)

  
 Mozart's Starling 2
Sometimes, the speech utterances occurred in highly incongruous settings: the bird mentioned above blasted his owners with "Basic research!" as he struggled frantically with his head caught in string; another screeched, "I have a question!" as she squirmed while being held to have her feet treated for an infection.
One bird, however, often mimicked her contact whistle several times in succession, with each version louder than the preceding one (perhaps a quite accurate representation of the sound becoming louder as her caregiver approached her).
The starlings' lively interest and ability to participate in the activities of their caregivers created an atmosphere of mutual companionship, a condition that may be essential in motivating birds to mimic particular models, as indicated by the findings with the birds in limited and auditory contact.
www.starlingtalk.com /mozart2.htm   (1481 words)

  
 Mozart's Starling 3
Mozart recorded the purchase of his starling in a diary of expenses, along with a transcription of a melody whistled by the bird and a compliment.
Given our observation that whistled tunes are altered and incorporated into mixed themes, we assume that the melody was new to the bird because it was so close a copy of the original.
Given that whistles were learned quite rapidly by the starlings we studied, it is not implausible that the Vienna starling could have performed the melody shortly after hearing it for the first time.
www.starlingtalk.com /mozart3.htm   (2045 words)

  
 Whistled speech   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-29)
In most instances the whistling is done with the mouth alone, but in Africa a whistle is used.
The main advantage of whistling speech is that it allows to cover much larger distances (typically 1-2 km but up to 5 km) than ordinary speech.
These speeches are usually found in areas with low population density and difficult terrain.
www.sciencedaily.com /encyclopedia/whistled_speech   (231 words)

  
 Language Miniatures 3: Whistled languages   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-29)
Since the rhythms of village life tend to be fairly predictable, the speakers of this language are obviously being aided by their mutual knowledge of what is likely to be said.
Whistling is by no means the only way to communicate a melody.
Ordinary speech is what we might call 'multi-channeled', communicating at a number of levels simultaneously: the speech sounds we call vowels and consonants and their combination, but at the same time subtle differences in pronunciation, which make a person's social or geographical accent.
home.bluemarble.net /~langmin/miniatures/whistle.htm   (807 words)

  
 DRT   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-29)
Whistled languages are spoken languages conveyed through the medium of whistling.
Whistled languages differ according to whether the spoken language is tonal or not, with the whistling being either tone or articulation based.
In non-tonal languages, some of the articulatory features of speech are retained, though the normally timbral variations imparted by the movements of the tongue and soft palate are transformed into pitch variations.
singlenesia.com /news/date/31710331   (692 words)

  
 Translation Theory   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-29)
The interpreter is posted beside the client and in real time discretely 'whispers' his/her translation of the speech activity.
Interpreting can be defined as the translation of speech orally, as opposed to translation of written texts.
The distinctive form of speech of a particular community, most or all of which is unintelligible to outsiders.
www.translatum.gr /etexts/translation-theory.htm   (2710 words)

  
 MECHANISMS OF AMERICAN ENGLISH VOWEL PRODUCTION IN A GREY PARROT (PSITTACUS ERITHACUS)   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-29)
Structures such as the tongue also may be responsible for division between the chambers in parrots; such is the case for humans, who accomplish con- striction at various points in the vocal tract by using structures such as the tongue, lips, and glottis separately or in combination (Ladefoged 1982).
Second, use of words facilitates comparisons with human speech: Most studies on humans rely on vowels in context because human formants, "to be identified with certainty, must often be perceived in relation to the frequencies of some other bit of speech uttered from the same vocal tract" (Borden and Harris 1984:194).
Parrots are known for their capacity to reproduce the sounds of human speech, but few studies have investigated their mechanisms for producing such vocalizations.
elibrary.unm.edu /sora/Auk/v113n01/p0041-p0058.html   (17479 words)

  
 John Hankinson's Alternative Communication Page
Caving is a pastime where communicating with a whistle is sometimes necessary when voices cannot be heard (for example near waterfalls) (Australian Speleological Federation Inc, 1990).
As the whistling on La Gomera preserves the structure of the spoken dialect, it is powerful enough to allow whistlers to converse about any subject.
Whistle languages have evolved in situations where speech is impractical.
www-users.cs.york.ac.uk /~alistair/research/dphil/jckh/altcomm.html   (2291 words)

  
 Mystical Village Pagan And Occult Community - Whistled language   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-29)
In non-tonal languages some of the articulatory features of speech are retained, though the normally timbral variations created by the movements of the tongue and soft palate impart are transformed into pitch variations.
French is whistled in some areas of western Africa, and Silbo is a whistled dialect of Spanish.
The main advantage of whistling speech is that it allows to cover much larger distances (typically 1-2 km but up to 5 km) than ordinary speech, and this is assisted by the relief found in areas where whistled languages are used.
www.mysticalvillage.net /article.php?story=20050508201322798   (799 words)

  
 M
We are not referring only to the ability of speech to increase the verisimilitude of a film, but also as a means of intensifying the drama of a scene.
Parallel synchronization occurs if speech and image carry parallel meanings, as in M when the camera is on the Murderer and he confesses in expressions and words his suffering before a court of criminals.
A Blind Beggar recognizes a tune being whistled in the distance as the one he heard when he sold a balloon to the man with Elsie Beckmann.
course1.winona.edu /pjohnson/h140/m2.htm   (6273 words)

  
 Whales on the Net - Dolphin Intelligence
These experiments do not use whistles as information carriers, as in the Batteau experiment, nor do they allow the dolphin to communicate back acoustically, yet the newer experiments exceed the performance of the Batteau dolphins by virtue of the fact that they have been going on for much longer.
It was then tempting to examine the possibility of teaching them, instead of speech, for which they are not particularly well equipped anatomically or phonetically, a whistled language, better suited to their natural characteristics.
Looking at the question from a slightly different point of view, when a Gomero or a Turk whistles, he is in effect still speaking, but he modifies one aspect of his linguistic activity in such a way that major acoustic modifications are imposed upon the medium.
whales7.tripod.com /policies/levasseur/levass2b.html   (2352 words)

  
 [No title]   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-29)
In the beginning (1950s?), there was a bit of speech research going on at AT&T Bell Labs.
In the future, spontaneous unrehearsed speech will be the primary mode of speech.
Speech is a very difficult task because it interacts with so many other fields.
www.cs.cmu.edu /People/rkm/raj_on_speech.txt   (554 words)

  
 Kosovo: Revision, Recycle, and Reality - Clinton Style [Rightgrrl Article]   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-29)
As bombs whistled over the head of Milosevic President Clinton, in his classic sober tone, asserted that Kosovo is, "…a powder keg at the heart of Europe" and that his justification for intervention is "to prevent a wider war".
What he didn't tell you, and what he was hoping you wouldn't remember, is that he used the same speech in 1995.
By using revisionist history, metaphor, and a recycled speech where the only distinction is the real estate under discussion, we are asked to deliver our hearty support once again for military action.
www.rightgrrl.com /98grrls/December/Joyce_M/kosovo.html   (595 words)

  
 Herders' Whistled Language Shows Brain's Flexibility   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-29)
Shepherds who whistle to each other across the rocky terrain of the Canary Islands off northwest Africa are shedding light on the language-processing abilities of the human brain, according to scientists.
Researchers say the endangered whistled "language'" of Gomera island 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.
Because whistled "words" can be hard to distinguish, silbadores also rely on repetition and context to make themselves understood.
news.nationalgeographic.com /news/2005/01/0105_050105_whistle_language.html   (624 words)

  
 The Dead media Project:Working Notes:25.8   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-29)
They are communication systems that replace the use of speech by other sounds, sometimes made with musical instruments, like drums or, in this case, by means of whistles.
Whistle language has been observed between some ancient Central and South American tribes and also in some of the South Pacific Islands (I don't know much about these other surrogates, so any further information is welcome).
Unfortunately, this old language may disappear soon: the local government tries to save it, as it is a very interesting cultural phenomenon unique in the island, but it is not an easy task, when one considers strong competitors, like cellular phones.
www.deadmedia.org /notes/25/258.html   (308 words)

  
 Whistling language on the Canary Islands   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-29)
Cabello is a "silbador," until recently a dying breed on tiny, mountainous La Gomera, one of Spain's Canary Islands off West Africa.
Like his father and grandfather before him, Cabello, 50, knows "Silbo Gomero," a language that's whistled, not spoken, and can be heard more than two miles away.
Silbo — the word comes from Spanish verb silbar, meaning to whistle — features four "vowels" and four "consonants" that can be strung together to form more than 4,000 words.
www.mirabilis.ca /archives/001284.html   (190 words)

  
 Mozart’s starling: Salutations from ‘one upstart species to another’
The speech patterns of one bird routinely precedes its rendition of "hi" with the sound of a human sniffle--a combination traced to his caregiver being allergic.The researchers found that the utterings of such comical and/or end earing combinations did much to facilitate attention from humans.
One starling whistled the first line of `Dixie,' frequently interjecting lines from 'The Star-Spangled Banner.'"All the birds the researchers studied in interactive contact showed an interest in whistling and music when it was performed.
The composer purchased his starling in the spring of 1784, recording the transaction along with 17 notes of a musical score and the comment "That was wonderful!" in his diary of expenses.
www.homepages.indiana.edu /042602/text/cowbirds.html   (924 words)

  
 In search of the missing whistle - National - www.smh.com.au
If whistling is mentioned now it's usually a reference to whistling kites, whistling ducks, whistling tree frogs, or a government program, Whistling in Harmony, designed to counteract the practice of abusing AFL umpires.
There are probably two main reasons why human whistling is fading fast: there is so much public noise - in shops, lifts, cars and streets - and modern music is hard to whistle.
Arnold Weiss was whistling at a latrine in a German prisoner-of-war camp when an elderly man asked if he knew what he was whistling.
www.smh.com.au /articles/2004/04/02/1080544688259.html   (767 words)

  
 Parrot Fever LLC Product List
Speech training CD includes all of your favorite farmyard sounds as well as food association training to have your bird asking for food by name!
Speech training CD`s are guaranteed never to wear out.
Your bird will be a singing sensation in no time with this jam-packed speech training CD of great musical hits.
www.parrot-fever.com /Product_List/Training-Aids.htm   (744 words)

  
 icScotland - Angry OAPs heckle minister   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-29)
The minister, appointed after the General Election, was given a rough ride after being invited to speak at the event organised by the National Pensioners Convention (NPC) attended by up to 2,000 pensioners from across the UK.
After a pause he ploughed on with his speech, telling pensioners the basic state pension had increased by nearly £20 a week since 1997 and the average pensioner is £1,500 a year better off since then.
Mr Timms said the government could not afford to restore the link between pensions and average earnings as it might not be sustainable.
icscotland.icnetwork.co.uk /spl/rangers/tm_objectid=15603560&method=full&siteid=50141&headline=angry-oaps-heckle-minister-name_page.html   (292 words)

  
 Sample Funeral Verse for a fisherman
He won't cast his fly again and though his creel may be empty our eyes today are filled with tears.
John was tone deaf and he whistled tunelessly all the time.
He often said that if he had been given one gift he would have liked to be able to sing.
www.speech-writers.com /sample_eulogy.htm   (614 words)

  
 Whistling children save ancient language   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-29)
Pouring from a classroom window of the primary school in San Sebástian came a sound similar to the chirping of caged song birds.
A glance inside the room, however, revealed not an aviary but a room full of eight-year-olds, each with a knuckle in their mouth, whistling the islanders' ancient language of silbo.
It has been bought back from the edge of extinction and the Canarian island of La Gomera is to host its first silbo competition later this month.
www.mirabilis.ca /archives/002510.html   (200 words)

  
 BBC News | UK | Emperor's 'deep pain' over WWII
Earlier, in a gesture of contempt, former prisoners of war turned their backs on Emperor Akihito and whistled the wartime anthem Colonel Bogey as he rode with the Queen in a Royal carriage down The Mall.
Under the post-war Japanese constitution, Emperor Akihito is a non-political figurehead and, as such, cannot formally apologise for the suffering inflicted by the Japanese imperial army.
But in the banquet speech on Tuesday, delivered in Japanese, he came close to saying sorry.
news.bbc.co.uk /1/hi/uk/100945.stm   (459 words)

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