Even when it feels like your cat’s ignoring you, they may be absorbing more of what you’re saying than they let on. At least that’s what researchers at Lund University in Sweden suspect, Newsweek reports. In a new study, they’ll try to determine whether cats can develop regional accents by listening to their owners.
Phonetics specialists will be looking at cat and human pairs in two distinct parts of the country: Southern Sweden and Stockholm, more than 300 miles north. By analyzing the intonation, voice, and speaking style of human speech that’s directed at cats and vice versa over the course of five years, researchers hope to find out whether cats exhibit specific “accents” that differ from region to region.
via Mental Floss
