Udder-ly ridiculous? Apparently not...

11:22am Wednesday 30th August 2006

HERE'S an a-MOO-sing story to brighten up your day - have you HERD that Somerset cows display a distinct West Country accent when they moo?

Now you may think this sounds UDDER-ly ridiculous, but believe it or not it's not a load of BULL - it's a theory which has been backed by some of the UK's top linguistic experts.

Try as we might, the Mercury has now run out of ways to MILK any further cow puns from this story, so we'll leave it up to the West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers group to explain more.

Somerset farmer Lloyd Green was one of the first to notice the Somerset lilt in his herd, and attributes it to his close bond with his bovine buddies.

He said: "I spend a lot of time with my Fresians, and they definitely moo with a Somerset drawl. I've spoken to other farmers 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."

Despite first impressions - yep, we all thought it was nonsense too - it seems that this theory is true. It is a phenomenon which has also been recorded in other animals, and which has backing from boffins around the country.

John Wells, professor of phonetics at the University of London, said: "This phenomena is well-attested in chirping birds. You find distinct chirping accents in different areas 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."

And this argument was supported by Dr Jeanine Treffers-Daller, reader in linguistics in the University of the West of England.

She added: "When we are learning to speak, we adopt a local variety of language spoken by our parents, so the same could be said about the variation in the West Country cow moo.

"Standard English can often sound too posh for some people, so we reject that in favour of a local accent which is often associated with fun nights out with our friends - or, in this case, chewing the cud."