How do you moo?

Have you been for a walk in the countryside lately and listened to cows mooing?, and if so did they have an accent of the county they were in? I heard this amusing fact on the news the other day.... how true is it, I wonder, and what about other animals for instance do dogs bark in local accents?!

British scientists have confirmed farmers' claims that cows throughout the country moo with accents that resembles those of their owners.

"I spend a lot of time with my (cows) and they definitely moo with a Somerset drawl," said dairy farmer Lloyd Green of Glastonbury. "The closer a farmer's bond is with his animals, the easier it is for them to pick up his accent."

John Wells, professor of Phonetics at the University of London, said he couldn't dispute the claims.

"This phenomenon is well attested in birds. You find distinct chirping accents in the same species around the country," Wells said. "In small populations such as herds you would encounter identifiable dialectical variations most affected by the immediate peer group."

Jeanine Treffers-Daller, reader in linguistics at the University of the West of England in Bristol, told the Mirror she agreed.

"When we learn to speak, we adopt the variety of language spoken by our parents, so the same could be said about the West Country cow moo," she said.

If you want to read more about it, look here