Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Brexit declared 'children's word of the year'

Youngsters’ short stories imagine magical solutions to political crisis

Zamira Rahim
Tuesday 11 June 2019 06:18 EDT
Comments
Titles included "The Cat who solved Brexit" and "A Unicorn Called Brexit"
Titles included "The Cat who solved Brexit" and "A Unicorn Called Brexit" (Getty iStock)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Brexit is the “children’s word of the year”, according to linguists at Oxford University Press (OUP).

The department’s lexicographers annually analyse thousands of entries to a children’s short story competition and found a marked change in this year’s entries.

More than 100,000 stories were entered into the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show competition.

Researchers found that the young writers used the word Brexit 418 times in their stories, compared to 89 times the previous year.

Mentions of Theresa May more than doubled, rising from 118 to 287.

The children used their stories to conjure up a Brexit deal or assist a beleaguered Ms May, while some tales saw Brexit cancelled completely.

Story titles included The Cat Who Solved Brexit, Aliens in Brexit and A Unicorn Called Brexit.

The entires also included several references to the backstop and the possibility of a no-deal Brexit.

Linguists at OUP also noted a general increase in political vocabulary.

“What is an extremely complex and difficult issue for some of the finest political minds has inspired children’s creativity and inventiveness in a really interesting and smart way,” said Helen Freeman, OUP’s director of publishing operations.

“In 2017 and 2018, Brexit was mostly referred to as a boring subject parents talked about, as something in the background.

“This year it is a very different picture – Brexit is front and centre of the action, with children swooping in to help Theresa May in a proactive, empowered and fun way.”

Researchers also found the children were fascinated with sloths, which appeared in stories a record 1,100 times this year.

But unicorns remain the most popular creature, mentioned 15,000 times, while digital assistants such as Alexa and Siri make frequent appearances.

Cristiano Ronaldo, the footballer, is the real-life person who is most mentioned, followed by Donald Trump, Adolf Hitler and Harry Kane.

“This year’s stories show an overwhelming desire among children to take action and create positive change themselves, at home, at school and in society more generally,” Ms Freeman said.

“Agency and empowerment are massive themes.”

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

This year’s story competition attracted 112,986 entries.

Additional reporting by agencies

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in