Not sure if it's the case here but over the decades I've observed there's a cultural aspect here. When I've had colleagues from the Middle East and/or South Asi

Not sure if it's the case here but over the decades I've observed there's a cultural aspect here. When I've had colleagues from the Middle East and/or South Asia I've found they're much more likely to use `u` and `r` colloquially than western counterparts. This could be what you're observing. Or perhaps they just like the aesthetics.