Yodelling, the traditional singing of herders in the Swiss Alps, was recognised by the United Nations on Thursday as part of the world's cultural heritage.

Yodelling was added to UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, at a meeting in New Delhi.

"As the emblematic song of Switzerland, yodelling encompasses a wide variety of artistic expressions and is deeply rooted in the population," the Swiss culture ministry said.

Yodelling is passed on in families, clubs, music schools or simply between singers.

More than 12,000 yodellers are members of one of the 711 groups of the country's Federal Yodelling Association.

"As a characteristic vocal technique, yodelling alternates between chest and head voice and uses meaningless syllables that are often associ

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