| Series Title | European Voice |
|---|---|
| Series Details | 19/10/95, Volume 1, Number 05 |
| Publication Date | 19/10/1995 |
| Content Type | News |
|
Date: 19/10/1995 The campaign for the promotion of lesser-used languages should be informed. EU justice ministers who spent last weekend at an informal gathering on the Canary island of La Gomera were picnicking in a beautiful glade in a national park when they heard the sound of whistling overhead. As the ministers tucked into their food, two local citizens - dressed in national costume and out of sight of each other - kept up an animated conversation which was conducted entirely in whistles. Officials who translated their exchange into Spanish and then into English for the benefit of the baffled ministers explained that for the inhabitants of La Gomera, whistling is a language of its own, not just a way of attracting someone's attention or making music. Perhaps it's just as well that the local dialect is not an official EU language. It might brighten up ministerial and parliamentary meetings, but what would the interpreters make of it? |
|
| Subject Categories | Culture, Education and Research, Politics and International Relations |
