What is the most difficult language in the world, Arabic, Latin or Chinese? None of them is. On the Spanish island of La Gomera, the local people speak a difficult and mysterious whistled language (口哨语).

The whistled language is called Silbo. Unlike other languages, Silbo depends on whistling to express the meaning. People use different pitches and lengths (音高和音长) of whistling to express different sounds, and then mix them to show different meanings. To express the meaning clearly, people often need to pay attention to their tongue, lips, hand and even body movements. Facing so many need, even the locals say, “Our language is too complex!”

So what’s the reason why people use this language? In fact, there are many deep valleys on the island. People on one side of a valley can’t easily speak to people on the other side. They live so far away that they have to shout across deep valleys and over time, the whistled language appeared.

But in the 1950s, many people left the island. And because of the development of communication, people were using telephones and no longer needed to whistle. By the 70s and 80s, Silbo was seldom used.

Later, the local government realized the importance of protecting the traditional language and began to do something for it. They added Silbo to the lessons of primary and secondary schools. They invited full-time teachers to teach Silbo to tourists. They also made a documentary about the whistled language. Thanks to their help, Silbo became alive again.

Today, many visitors come to the island to enjoy the whistling performances of the locals. Instead of dying out, this traditional language has further contributed to the development of local tourism.

People communicate (沟通) in many different ways. The most common way is by talking with others. Besides talking, we can also use body language. When we use body language, we need to use body to show what we mean. Sign language is a kind of body language. Let’s see more about it.

Sign language is popular among dumb people who are unable to speak or don’t want to speak. If you want to communicate with a foreigner, but you can’t speak his language and he can’t speak Chinese, what can you do? Maybe you can communicate by making signs. Now let’s learn some signs Indians often use.

*When they are hungry, they move their right hands back and forth in front of their stomachs. (胃)

*When they mean “Let’s eat”, they put their right hands and move them up and down in front of their mouths.

*When they have had enough, they part their thumbs (拇指) and first fingers, and move their hands from their chests (胸) to chins (下巴).

*If they have a stomachache, they put both hands on their stomachs, and move them back and forth.

A student is studying British English (英式英语). He wonders: Can I have a talk with Americans? Can they understand me? Learners of English often ask—what are the differences between British English and American English? How important are these differences?

Certainly, there are some differences between British English and American English. There are a few differences in grammar. For example, speakers of British English say “in hospital” and “Have you a pen?” Americans say “in the hospital” and “Do you have a pen?” Pronunciation is sometimes different. Americans usually sound the “r” in words like “car”and “farm”. Some speakers of British English do not sound the “r” in these words. There are differences between British English and American English in spelling and vocabulary. For example, “colour” and “honour” are British English spellings. “Color” and “honor” are American English spellings.

These differences are in grammar, pronunciation, spelling and vocabulary. However, they are not important. For the most part, British English and American English are the same language.