Turkey’s endangered ‘bird language’ added to UN cultural heritage list

ANKARA — The unusual and very efficient whistle language used as a means of communication by villagers in the remote and mountainous northern Turkey has been added to the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage but could soon be overtaken by modern technology.

The United Nations cultural agency has accepted the “bird language” of Black Sea villagers as an endangered part of world heritage in need of urgent protection.

Around 10,000 people, mostly in the district of Canakci in Giresun province, still use the language, which is a highly developed high-pitch system of whistling to communicate in rugged terrain where people mostly cannot see each other.

This form of communication, which dates some 500 years ago, to the Ottoman Empire, was widespread across the Black Sea regions.

But 50 years ago, it suffered the impact of the progression of technology and nowadays the rapid growth of cellular mobile systems has put this cultural heritage under serious threat.

In the days before mobile phones, these high-pitched noises allowed people to communicate across great distances. The “bird language” has a tone higher than other similar whistle languages, and it can travel up to 5 kilometers. So this unusual form of communication was born from sheer necessity and passed from generation to generation.

For centuries, the language has been passed on from grandparent to parent, from parent to child. Now, though, many of its most proficient speakers who use their tongue, teeth and fingers are aging and becoming physically weak.

Young people are no longer interested in learning the language or in finding ways to update its vocabulary with new words, and in a few generations it may be gone for good.

“Mobile phones have had a certain impact on our whistle tradition here, but we are trying to keep our culture alive,” said Avni Kocek, head of Kuskoy (literally translated as “bird village”).

“We are very satisfied that our bird language is now a part of world culture heritage. It was a dream come true because we think that it will also inspire others,” said Muhtar Kocek, who explained that Kuskoy is making efforts to keep the practice alive through its annual Bird Language Festival.

Seref Kocek, head of the local cultural association, said that UNESCO’s decision was some kind “of a recogni- tion of our language in the world”, adding that despite setbacks because of technology, “bird language is still used by many locals to communicate and is the most practical way to do it instead of yelling across the valleys, which is bad for our throats”.

District authorities have started teaching the language at primary schools since 2014 in order to instill the practice in younger generations.

“Whistle language is transmitted from our elders to us and we have the duty to transmit it to our children in the context of parent-child relations. It’s a knowledge that is shared by a mother with her child,” said Muhtar Kocek, who learned it 50 years ago.

According to experts, whistle languages have existed through the ages across the world like in Spain’s Canary Islands, in Mexico or in Greek villages, but the Turkish one seems to be the most highpitched and lexical extended, with more than 400 words and phrases.

The mobile phones have had a certain impact on our whistle tradition here, but we are trying to keep our culture alive.” Avni Kocek, head of Kuskoy (bird village)