Farmers: Cows mooo with a twang
LONDON, England (Reuters) — Cows have regional accents, a group of
British farmers claims, and phonetics experts say the idea is not as
far-fetched as it sounds.
Lloyd Green, from southwest England, was one of a group of farmers who
first noticed the phenomenon.
“I spend a lot of time with my Friesians and they definitely ‘moo’ with
a Somerset drawl,” he said, referring to the breed of dairy cow he owns.
“I’ve spoken to the other farmers in the West Country group and they
have noticed a similar development in their own herds.
“I think it works the same as with dogs – the closer a farmer’s bond is
with his animals, the easier it is for them to pick up his accent.”
Dom Lane, spokesman for a group called the West Country Farmhouse
Cheesemakers to which Green belongs, said it contacted John Wells,
Professor of Phonetics at University College London, who said that a
similar phenomenon had been found in birds.
“You find distinct chirping accents in the same species around the
country. This could also be true of cows,” Wells said on the group’s Web
site.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/08/23/cows.accent.reut/index.html