Goats have accents too

A new study has revealed that pygmy goats have accents.

Their accent is based on the group or “crèche” they were brought up in, rather than genetics, as was previously thought. Researchers from the University of London believe that the goats are displaying the first signs of evolutionary development in language. As goat kids age, their calls become similar to other goat kids in their crèche.

“We found the pitch of the call slightly different,” said Dr. Alan McElligott of Queen Mary’s School of Biological and Chemical Sciences at the University of London.

Though you may need a trained ear to tell the difference.

“I’m sure that if a goat listened to a person, they probably couldn’t tell the difference between a Boston accent and a New York accent,” Dr. McElligott quipped. (Source: WBUR)

The next stage of development is imitation, and scientists believe that one day animals may be able to develop complex language like humans. Listen to the goat calls over at the WBUR website.