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Friday Tomfoolery (British version)
Did you know that cows moo with accents based on the region they in which they reside. (Does that means the accent will change if a U.S. cow goes from upstate New York to California?)
A British phonetics expert has backed up claims by dairy farmers' in Somerset that cows moo with regional accents. The dairy farmers noticed a local twang to the sounds made by their animals, according to a report in Britain's Guardian newspaper.
According to John Wells, Professor of Phonetics at the University of London, "This phenomena is well attested to in birds. You find distinct chirping accents in the same species around the country. This could also be true of cows. In small populations such as herds you would encounter identifiable dialectical variations which are most affected by the immediate peer group."
The phenomenon was noticed by members of the West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers group, who put it down to the close bond between farmer and cow.
The group has also noted similar accent shifts in Midlands, Essex, Norfolk and Lancashire moos.
Farmer Lloyd Green of Glastonbury told reporters, "I spend a lot of time with my ones and they definitely moo with a Somerset drawl."
Naturally, all this cow-talk gets one to wondering how cows from different regions of the planet sound.
If the phoneticists are right, for example, Canadian cows should go "mooeh".
French cows, "moolala".
Israeli cows, "moooyvay".
German cows, "moonich".
Swiss cows, "moo-oo-loodle-loodle-oo".
Bronx cows, "I-got-your-moo-right-here".
Polish cows, "mooski".
Japanese cows, "moosan".
Wealthy cows, "moolah".
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