Crosspost: Cows with accents?

[Laurence Horn]

A cross-post of direct relevance to many dialectologists on the list, I'm sure.

LH

>Date:         Wed, 23 Aug 2006 14:17:26 -0400
>Sender: The discussion list for Language and the Law
><FORENSIC-LINGUISTICS at JISCMAIL.AC.UK>
>From: Jane Rosenthal <quidnunc at AOL.COM>
>Subject: [FL-LIST] [FL] Cows with accents?
>
>Okay, this has little to do with FL unless you have a need to
>identify a cow.  However, I thought you might be amused by this
>story.
>
>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."
>
>For the rest of the story, go to:
><http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/08/23/cows.accent.reut/index.html>http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/08/23/cows.accent.reut/index.html
>
>
>Jane Rosenthal
>New York University

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