Tlaxcalan whistling

Whistling system used by the Tlaxcaltec people of San Juan Zacualpan, Tlaxcala, Mexico, described by Coberly (1975) and Wilken (1979). Whistling is usually through the teeth with two fingers inserted in the mouth. The spoken language associated with the whistling system is Spanish.Whistling has a close connection to the articulation of spoken Spanish, encoding vowel quality and some consonantal information. According to Coberly, /i/ corresponds to the highest pitch, followed by /e/, /a/ and /u/, and lastly /o/; the intervals between pitch levels are distinct, making vowel contrasts recognizable independent of register (Coberly 1975, 60). According to Wilken, Vowel sounds are represented by different relative pitches, and consonants are "pronounced" with a combination of frictives and plosives formed with lips and tongue. Even nasal consonants are produced by nasalizing whistling simultaneously. (Wilken 1979, 883)To the contrary, Coberly reports that certain consonant classes are distinguished by brief disturbances in the whistled pitch (i.e. coronal consonants typically raise the pitch while labials and velars lower it), as well as breaks of various lengths (distinguishing plosives) and other features of the signal envelope marking out specific consonants (64). The trilled [r] corresponds to an audible trill during the whistled signal. Whistling is usually performed by boys and men, though women also learn and understand it (Wilken 1979, 884). Wilken reports its use in a variety of contexts, including greetings, announcement of arrivals, jokes, insults, flirtation, and other brief conversations at long and shorter distances (884). Stylistic or dialectal differences between villages in the region limit comprehension; Wilken notes that "Tepenyecans, the acknowledged masters of whistle speech in this region...complicate their whistle speech to the confusion of outsiders" (884).

Coberly, M.S. (1975). Arbitrary and Natural Features of Non-Tone Language Whistle Speech as Evidence of Diffusion. In: F. Ingemann (Ed), Mid America Linguistics Conference Papers (pp. 59-70). Lawrence: University of Kansas, Department of Linguistic’.,Hasler, J. A. (1960). El lenguaje silbado. In T. Sebeok, D.J. Umiker-Sebeok (Eds.). Speech surrogates: drum and whistle systems (pp. 1412-1425). Paris and La Haye: Mouton.,Wilken G. C. (1979). Whistle speech in Tlaxcala (Mexico), Anthropos, 74, 881-888