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Isolated for six months, scientists in Antarctica began to develop their own accent (www.bbc.com)

submitted 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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they were taking part in an unusual experiment, which involved tracking their own voices over time. This was done by making 10-minute recordings every few weeks. They would sit in front of a microphone and repeat the same 29 words as they appeared on a computer screen. Food. Coffee. Hid. Airflow.

One of those changes was the "ou" sound in words such as "flow" and "sew" that shifted towards the front of the vocal tract.

I'm not actually sure what sound change they're describing there. Can anyone explain with examples or IPA?

edit: Cheers for the answers (turns out I misunderstood which part is the vocal tract)

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[–] spacecowboy 14 points 8 months ago (2 children)

I believe it would sound like an eastern Canadian would say it. Like how house becomes hoouse?

[–] [email protected] 24 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Spend time in the cold and start developing the Canadian accent?

[–] spacecowboy 9 points 8 months ago

It does isolate people!

[–] can 2 points 8 months ago

Trying desperately to figure out how I say "house".