The Antarctic accent was born, and perhaps in a few years it will also appear on the Moon and Mars.

Some people find that British English is more pleasant and easier to understand, while American English sounds rougher. Other people think differently. But what about him? Antarctic accent? Yes, it looks like we’re joking. How can there be an accent characteristic of a deserted place? But the truth is, yes, there is an Antarctic accent, according to a new study.

It is an uninhabited place in the sense that there are neither permanent settlements nor people born here. But yes there is research camps. In winter, they usually live there, somewhere nearby. 1000 peoplefigure that increases in summer up to 5000. Scientists who travel there in the winter often spend long periods of time interacting with each other. For this reason, a group of scientists from Ludwig Maximilian University from Munich analyzed the manner of speech of 11 people of different nationalities living in Antarctica.

Recordings of his original accent were made over the course of two years and periodically. So it could be seen that little by little they were changing, perhaps due to feedback from all of them. But the most curious thing was many common factors. It’s not that an Englishman gets a German accent. At the end of the study, they all developed a new way of speaking that is recognizable and shares many factors in common: an Antarctic accent.

What is an Antarctic accent?

The study involved eleven people living in Antarctica in winter. Eight were born in Englandbut with different accents, because he was from the north and south, the other was from the northwest USAtenth Germany and the last of Iceland.

Recordings of her voice were made at the very beginning of the study, and four more recordings – approximately every six weeks. Thus, it was seen that their accents gradually modulated towards a common accent, which was characterized, for example, by uttering long vowels. There were also common factors, such as a change in pronunciation sound or, found in words like flow. They usually said it in the back of their throats. However, due to the Antarctic accent, they began to say it directly into their mouths.

All of these changes were subtle but consistent. Enough to be able to predict them computational model. It should be noted that artificial intelligence algorithms are used not only for forecasting. Since their role is to look for patterns, they can also see how closely related two factors are. And, in the case of the Antarctic accent, it seems to be understandable.

A small example of what happened in America

The authors of this study consider the Antarctic accent an example of how a language has evolved. along history.

For example, this could be compared to what happened to the British, who colonized America and switched from a British accent to an American one. This was the result of isolation from most of his English compatriots, as well as fraternization both with the natives who lived there and with other Europeans who moved to the New Continent.

This of course happened on a much faster scale, but it shows what can happen if we continue to colonize new arenas. Who knows? Perhaps in the future when let’s hear someone saywe are annoyed by how difficult it is to understand his strong moon accent.