Rhitu Chatterjee

Rhitu Chatterjee

Rhitu Chatterjee is a science correspondent for The World.

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Who Knew? Goats Have Accents Too

February 17, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment
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Photo: Tambako the Jaguar/Flickr

Photo: Tambako the Jaguar/Flickr

A new study by British scientists shows that baby goats develop different “accents” depending on the groups they associate with.

The research suggests that sounds made by goats, and perhaps other mammals, are not solely innate but are influenced by social interactions. Marco Werman speaks with The World’s science reporter Rhitu Chatterjee.



Calls of baby goats from different groups at White Post Farm, Nottinghamshire, UK. Sound courtesy of Elodie Briefer, Queen Mary University of London.

Discussion

2 comments for “Who Knew? Goats Have Accents Too”

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Earl-Brownq/1762628697 Earl Brownq

    At the end of this piece, Marco said something about Foghorn Leghorn’s southern accent, and  I thought he might be interested to know where that southern accent came from.
    Back in the 1930′s and 40′s, there was a very popular (and very topical, for the time) radio comedian named Fred Allen. One of the characters on his show was a long winded, southern Senator named Senator Claghorn. It was a short leap to the arrogant and clueless rooster, voiced by the inimitable Mel Blanc.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003170417716 Nazir Patel

    i like sound.