Whistled languages of the world: Phonetic, phonological, and neurocognitive Insights into an alternative speech modality

Michela Russo (CNRS SFL & Université Lyon)
Sophia Katsiouris (Université Paris 8 & CNRS SFL)

Description: Whistled languages offer a natural laboratory for studying how human speech can be acoustically reduced yet remain intelligible. This interdisciplinary workshop explores their phonetic, phonological, and neurocognitive dimensions across the world—from Greek Sfyria to Silbo Gomero and Tashlhiyt Berber. By integrating acoustic analysis, typology, and recent EEG and behavioral findings, the meeting investigates how left- and right-hemispheric processes cooperate in decoding melodic speech signals. Bringing together researchers in laboratory phonology, cognitive neuroscience, and music perception, this event aims to advance
our understanding of how linguistic structure adapts to an alternative auditory modality.