Cows have regional accents like humans, language specialists have suggested.
They decided to examine the issue after dairy farmers noticed their cows had slightly different moos, depending on which herd they came from.
John Wells, Professor of Phonetics at the University of London, said regional twangs had been seen before in birds.
The farmers in Somerset who noticed the phenomenon said it may have been the result of the close bond between them and their animals.
Farmer Lloyd Green, from Glastonbury, said: “I spend a lot of time with my ones and they definitely moo with a Somerset drawl.
Surely there is an original cow moo from which all other cow moos derive. Shouldn’t we be investigating to determine what it sounded like?
(Un)related Link: They still make moo cows. Order yours today!
Meaux?
[a la Peter Sellers]
sounds like a winner at the next ignoble prize ceremony
I got one of those “moo cows” from an Altiris mail campaign. It sounds more like an asthmatic sheep.
I got one of those “moo cows” from an Altiris mail campaign. It sounds more like an asthmatic sheep.
Hmm.. too bad.. I had one years ago that actually sounded like a cow. As usual, things were better in the good ol’ days….
Well, experienced wine tasters can tell from under which out-house their vino comes from, so it makes sense that cows from different locals would not only sound different but also taste a tiny bit different.
As far as these farmers spending so much time with their cows that they can tell their bovine friends by the sound of their moo, well, that sounds a bit creepy to me.
Surely there is an original cow moo from which all other cow moos derive.
Almost. There is the Proto Indo-mooepean family of mooing — though American buffalo and Hungarian and Finnish oxen have totally unrelated mooings.
I knew the Wisconsin accent was strong… but damn.
MoooOOOooooOOoooow