That Texas Longhorn drawl...

[TechBear_Seattle]

Cows also 'have regional accents'

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.

The article continues at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5277090.stm

First there was prarie dog languages able to express complex concepts, now cow dialects. What next?

[Kutjara]

1. Sounds like some of these farmers have spent...

...a little too much time with their cows.

Moo y'all.

[RB TexLa]

2. At least humans can get rid of theirs n/t

[jobycom]

3. We anthropomorphize humans so much that we think we are unique

Other animals have most of the capacities of humans when it comes to the basics--emotions, instincts, driving forces. We just learned to use tools and talk better (current president not included), so we've been screwing up the world since.

[snappyturtle]

4. I think it's rather sweet! At least it's not bad news, for a change. nt

[tularetom]

5. What next? Chimps with fake Texas twangs perhaps?

[uppityperson]

6. 1 of my chickens speaks a different cluckage

most of them do variations on "look look look" but 1 speaks morse code "dah dot dah dahhhh". Seriously, 1 speaks different than the others (different breed, a wilder one from European stock). I can tell her apart easily without looking.

[madinmaryland]

7. "Prairie dog languages" Wow!

:shrug:

[TechBear_Seattle]

8. You missed that one, eh? Here's the link

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=228&topic_id=20010