Literacy news
Rise in the number of British children using Americanisms in their writing
31 May 2012
British children are increasingly using American English in their writing, according to a study by Oxford University Press which looked at 74,000 entries for BBC Radio 2’s ‘500 Words’ competition. Americanisms such as cupcake, trash can, candy and sidewalk were found in many of the entries.
The study also found that celebrity culture had a powerful influence in the children's work, with the singer Jessie J and the footballers Lionel Messi and Wayne Rooney featured prominently.
But books also proved to be a big influence on participants with many stories including mythical creatures such as the basilisk and hippogriff (recently popularised by JK Rowling's Harry Potter books), JRR Tolkien's orcs and Lewis Carroll's bandersnatch.
And despite concerns that texting is sabotaging language, so-called "text speak" only featured when the story included an imagined text message, demonstrating that children are aware when it is not appropriate to use it.
Children's writer Andy Stanton, one of the authors on the judging panel, said:
At a microscopic level, children's use of language is robust and imaginative. They know the value of a well-chosen word and the power of an original image.
Read the full story at BBC News.
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