children’s dictionaries, educational division oxford ... · children’s dictionaries,...
TRANSCRIPT
#children’slanguage
Vineeta Gupta and Nilanjana Banerji Children’s Dictionaries, Educational Division
Oxford University Press
Tuesday 12 April 2016
The only known English children’s corpus in the world
• A large electronic database of children’s language, sourced from a vast variety of children’s literature, writing, and select websites
• It has language software tools that can analyse how children’s language behaves. It can identify word frequencies, grammatical structures, and child-related vocabulary
Oxford Children’s Corpus What is it?
• Lexicographers and linguists who use it for language research and dictionary compilation
• School book editors who use it to inform their literacy publishing
• Academic researchers in the departments of literature, psychology and education
• Marketing and PR who use it to engage with children, parents and teachers reinforcing Oxford’s message that language learning is fun as well as a necessary part of literacy, and social and cognitive success
Oxford Children’s Corpus Who is it for?
6
OCC-R
Oxford Children’s Corpus of Reading (writing for children)
OCC-E Oxford Children’s Corpus of Education (curriculum material)
OCC-W Oxford Children’s Corpus of Writing (writing by children)
www.historyonthenet.com www.classicreader.com
Oxford Children’s Corpus What’s in it?
• Some children’s top nouns:
people, book, friend, water, home, boy, girl
• Some adult’s top nouns:
company, group, point, case, country, government, problem
• Some children’s top verbs:
eat, cry, wish, laugh, hope, smile
• Some adult’s top verbs:
provide, pay, create, offer, decide, develop
Frequency Children’s language (Oxford Children’s Corpus) compared with adult language (Oxford English Corpus)
Oxford Children’s Corpus Analysis and Findings
Difference between children’s usage and adult usage:
Children’s Corpus – baron (nobleman)
Adult Corpus – baron (a powerful owner of an industry)
Children’s Corpus – terrible + secret, misfortune, storm
Adult Corpus – terrible + tragedy, mistake, blow
Children’s Corpus – wonderful + story, adventure, creature, discovery
Adult Corpus – wonderful + opportunity, gift, job, achievement
Children’s Corpus – see + nothing, flash, glimmer, ghost
Adult Corpus – see + movie, reason, doctor, difference
Oxford Children’s Corpus Analysis and Findings
• Chris Evans BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show (15 million listeners) run a 500 Words Short Story competition for 5-13 year-olds
• Entries are read and shortlisted by over
1000 teachers and volunteers from the National Literacy Trust/Scottish Book Trust
• Chris Evans and an expert panel of judges
select the winners from a shortlist of 50
• Final is held during the Hay Festival and winning stories are read by celebrities like Benedict Cumberbatch
Oxford Children’s Corpus and BBC Radio 2 500 Words
• OUP’s collaboration with the BBC began in
spring 2012 and continued for 5 years • Each year all the words areadded to the
children’s language database the Oxford Children’s Corpus and analysed by OUP
• A full report is prepared on children’s language usage and top findings are given to the BBC and all national and local newspapers
Oxford Children’s Corpus and BBC Radio 2 500 Words
UNUSUAL TITLES • How biscuits, mustard and prune juice can save the world…
• If only I could switch my mum off
• The Curse of the Cake
• Agent Pork Chop
UNUSUAL STORY OPENERS
• It was the night I became a hero with my pyjamas inside out.
• Unfortunately I got out in the wrong place at the wrong time.
• There was a giraffe in our field one morning. Yes, you heard right, a giraffe.
Oxford Children’s Corpus and BBC Radio 2 500 Words 2012
DINOSAURS
• chocolateosaurus
• spottysaurus
• gigantosaurus
ITALIAN FOOD?
• Madame Linguine
• conchiglie spacecraft
• telescope made of penne
• 3 races called brie, gorgonzola, and cheddar
NAMES
• Sir Lostalot
• Charlie Chewsalot
• King Drunkenstein
• Prince Roastbeef
GADGETS
• fingerlaser
• zaporator
• shutdownotron
• takeovertheworldinator
Oxford Children’s Corpus and BBC Radio 2 500 Words 2012
Spelling: exited/exiting (excited/exciting) cloths (clothes)
invisable, thoght, disided, enourmas, minuets (minutes)
SPELLING, PUNCTUATION, AND GRAMMAR CHALLENGES
Punctuation: apostrophe’’’’’ exclamation mark!!!!!
Grammar: rised instead of rose striked instead of struck teached instead of taught thinked instead of thought
Oxford Children’s Corpus and BBC Radio 2 500 Words 2012
Top female character Cinderella
Top male character James Bond
Top TV show Top Gear
Top car Ferrari
Top new word gangnam
Top band One Direction
Top celebrity Chris Evans
Top athlete Usain Bolt
16
Oxford Children’s Corpus and BBC Radio 2 500 Words 2013
New words 2015
animatronics animatronic
hillfort
shopkins ebola
baymax
Oxford Children’s Corpus and BBC Radio 2 500 Words 2015
Cyclops
Poseidon
Heracles
Olympus
Helios
Medusa
demigod
Caspian
Narnia
Aslan
Naiad
Satyr
orc
Hobbit
Bilbo
Gandalf
Frodo
Middle Earth
Thorin
Literary references wand
phoenix
Luna
Hermione
Hogwarts
Dumbledore
Voldemort
Harry Potter
Narnia Tolkien
Percy Jackson
Oxford Children’s Corpus and BBC Radio 2 500 Words 2015
Influence of films wolf
Anna
troll
Elsa
Kai
Olaf
Marshmallow
Hans
Sven
Kristoff
Gerda
Arendelle
This is Lily Stewart reporting for Aldermaston School on the most important event of the year in Arendelle, yes Anna and Kristoff are finally getting married! and it is going to be a magical event. (Frozen 2, girl, 8)
Frozen
Oxford Children’s Corpus and BBC Radio 2 500 Words 2015
Maleficent
Tallulah had been captured and it was up to Tommy to save her from the evil Maleficent the great, as she called herself . As he arrived at the spooky stone castle George creped down the corridor to the dungeon to rescue Tallulah. (George and the magic carpet, girl, 10)
fairy
Fairy
Aurora
Leila
Maleficent
Stefan
Godmother
Moors
Oxford Children’s Corpus and BBC Radio 2 500 Words 2014
Influence of films
Highlights this year: • Duchess of Cornwall is one of the judges
• Malorie Blackman, Frank Cottrell Boyce, Charlie Higson, Francesca Simon are judges again
• All entrants get a certificate for entering the competition and are entered into a draw for tickets for the final
• Final will be at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death
Oxford Children’s Corpus and BBC Radio 2 500 Words 2016