Children’s Language Data Analyst

Dr Rebecca Lawrence

“The ÌÇÐÄVlog Children’s Corpus is particularly unique in its size, its wide range of texts, and the fact it is constantly added to, providing us with up-to-date insights into children’s language. “

The ÌÇÐÄVlog Children’s Corpus was built by ÌÇÐÄVlog’s Children’s Dictionaries and Children’s Language Data team. It’s the largest known database of children’s written language in English around the world, and contains over 500 million words written by, and for, children. It’s a growing resource with new texts added each year, which means it provides a record of children’s language over time and reflects up-to-date usage.

By analysing the corpus, we gain valuable insights into how children’s language changes over time and the influences that shape it. We use these insights to inform our children’s dictionaries and other education products, as well as ongoing research into children’s language.

I have a long-held fascination with language, from loving French and Russian at school to studying Linguistics (the science of language) for my undergraduate and Masters degrees, and then specializing in reading and language development during my PhD. I also worked in editorial positions along the way, so my current role is the perfect combination of these interests: applying insights from language analysis straight into our dictionaries, wider publishing, and language reports. I honestly find this process exciting every day, and working on the ÌÇÐÄVlog Children’s Corpus is the cherry on top!

Analysing language to understand how young people navigate the world

Most corpora contain language written by and for adults, so a children’s corpus itself is relatively rare. The ÌÇÐÄVlog Children’s Corpus is particularly unique in its size, its wide range of texts (including reading texts, school texts, internet material, and children’s own creative writing), and the fact it is constantly added to, providing us with up-to-date insights into children’s language.Ìý

And at a time when the is highlighting the importance of reading in children’s lives, the Corpus offers a unique evidence base for understanding the language experiences that shape young readers.

One of the most valuable aspects of our Corpus is its ability to track language change in real time. As we may expect, our Corpus analysis has shown the influence of technology on children’s creative writing: for instance we saw doomscrolling appear in BBC 500 Words stories for the first time in 2025, and the frequency of AI increased by 50% compared to the previous year. However, Iibrary, librarian, and book have all seen a significant increase in stories over the last decade, while mentions of kindle have dropped off. It’s interesting to see this subtle trend towards physical books in children’s writing over time, despite the obvious influence from technology!

Every year we see brilliant examples of children’s creative writing – a few of my favourite snippets are ‘as suddenly as a British downpour’ and ‘he was as rich as a Victoria sponge’.

The Corpus doesn’t just reveal changing vocabulary, it also helps us understand how children engage with the world around them. Looking back over the words that have been chosen as the ÌÇÐÄVlog Children’s Word of the Year offers an interesting snapshot, using language as an insight into children’s view of the world. Whilst the chosen word always captures something that has been pertinent for children at that moment in time, the earlier words like minion and #hashtag are more playful. Subsequent choices like plastic, Trump, and Brexit tap into more grown-up themes, indicating how engaged children are now with world events.

Celebrating children’s language

It’s always a privilege to work on the Children’s Word of the Year campaign. It gives children a chance to reflect on the past year but also offers them an opportunity for their voices to be heard. In 2023, children chose climate change: their responses expressed a clear call to action which I found very impactful. We now announce a colloquial word of the year as well: for instance, in 2023 we saw some brilliant and varied uses of their chosen word bro. In particular, we saw that children were using it as an in-group identity marker to minimize conflict, which is a linguistic politeness strategy. It highlighted that children are attuned to the nuanced social implications that are inherent in language – and also how they can drive language change themselves.

These insights are valuable not only for research, but also for the resources we create for children and educators. The insights we gain from the Corpus don’t simply stay within reports, they directly influence the books and resources we create. Alongside a team of lexicographers, we analyse the Corpus to inform our dictionary updates, making sure our print books and digital datasets reflect up-to-date usage. For example, Corpus analysis revealed that in recent years, children are using the words petrify, phoenix, and sapphire in their creative writing more often than they used to, so we have added these words to the forthcoming edition of our .

Supporting research into language and learning

Our dictionary data also feeds into many of our wider products and resources. These include , glossaries for the , and definitions in the Mastery resources. We’ve also used corpus analysis techniques to provide language insights for the secondary books – to name a few!Ìý

Beyond helping us understand language trends, the Corpus is also contributing to wider research into reading and language development. When it comes to vocabulary development, reading (anything!) is massively important: using our Corpus found that written texts offer opportunities to learn words that are only rarely encountered in speech. This continues way beyond the early years of language acquisition, which is one of the reasons why supporting a child’s enthusiasm for reading as they get older is so powerful.

The ÌÇÐÄVlog Children’s Corpus continues to reveal new insights into how children understand and use language. Most recently we’ve explored the relationship between reading and emotional understanding, using corpus analysis to examine the themes and emotions children encounter through books. This is just one example of the questions the ÌÇÐÄVlog Children’s Corpus can help us answer. Later this month, we’ll be sharing more findings from our latest research exploring the relationship between reading and emotional understanding, and what this might mean for supporting children’s reading journeys.

As the National Year of Reading continues, the ÌÇÐÄVlog Children’s Corpus offers a uniquely evidence-based view of children’s voices and experiences, and reminds us that understanding children’s language is one of the most powerful ways to support their learning.

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We’re proud to support the National Year of Reading 2026, a UK-wide campaign to address theÌý.

This initiative resonates deeply with our commitment at OUP to advance knowledge and learning worldwide. We believe reading is transformative: it fuels curiosity and gives people the chance to ‘go all in’ and learn more about the subjects they care about most. It also supports learning, wellbeing, and opens doors to opportunity. Ìý

Our commitment goes beyond the UK.ÌýAcross continents, weÌýpartnerÌýwith schools, governments, and communities to raise reading attainment and foster a lifelong love of reading.ÌýÌý

As reading habits evolve, we embrace both print and digital formats to ensure reading remains inspiring, accessible, and relevant. This year, we’ll share stories and initiatives that show how reading in all its forms can help you ‘go all in’ and unlock more of what you love.

We asked some of our colleagues from across our global offices for their personal reflections about what reading means to them.

Elizabeth Munn

Managing Director, Education

For me, reading is the beginning of possibility. It can open a child’s world, helping them to understand themselves, others, and the environment we all share. Working with OUP’s beautiful children’s books, I’m reminded of the transformative power a single story can hold. , for example, shows how words and illustrations can combine to create something magical—a story that not only captivates young readers but inspires them to care about the world around them.

Stories like this demonstrate why reading matters. They prompt children to ask questions, expand their imaginations, and see their place within a much bigger global story. And that’s why our work at OUP feels so meaningful to me: for generations, we’ve supported learners by giving them access to stories that help them grow.

Matt Davidson

Head of International Primary and Curriculum

Reading means the world to me! Personally, I wasn’t a huge reader as a teenager, but at university I discovered a passion for it that even led me toward pursuing a writing career. However, after countless rejection letters and just a few published pieces, I did manage to find my way into publishing. The books I’ve read over the years have exposed me to culture, philosophy, food, travel, true crime—so much! They still enrich me today, even if I reach for a device more often than a book now.

Professionally, reading is at the heart of everything I do. No matter how forward-looking the work I do with our and resources becomes, it all starts with reading. Research shows strong reading skills and vocabulary knowledge link to future academic and professional success. Therefore, reading, in a way, is a key to children’s opportunities, opening whole new worlds.

Yolandi Farham

Product Director, OUP South Africa

Reading, to me, has always been synonymous with stories and possibility—the possibility to learn, to build knowledge, to imagine boldly, and ultimately to participate fully in the world. Stories connect us. They bridge cultures and generations, nurturing curiosity and shaping young minds.

Yet the power of reading—and the possibilities it unlocks—remains out of reach for far too many children across South Africa and beyond. This is why the work we do at OUP matters so deeply to me.

Through initiatives like our partnership with AVBOB and the Road to Literacy campaign, the Early Grade Reading project, , and our wide range of reading schemes, we are helping to close the gap in access to quality reading materials in children’s mother tongue. Just from the Road to Literacy project alone, more than 1,940 trolley libraries have now reached communities that need them most. Each trolley library represents more than books. It representsÌýpossibility: the chance for children to encounter stories in their own language, to imagine a future beyond their circumstances, and to step into opportunities that literacy makes possible.

To me, reading is not just a skill. It is the first step in unlocking possibilities.

Calvin Poon

Sales Director, OUP Hong Kong

In an age drowning in information, reading has become my quiet act of resistance—a retreat into silence where meaning can rise to the surface. I seek that space not to escape the world, but to hear voices otherwise lost in the noise.

To read is to meet another mind across the distance of time. As a Hong Konger, I experienced this meeting in a unique way. Our city has always been a place where East and West intertwine, and working in publishing here feels like standing at a crossroads of different souls. I am proud that OUP helps build these bridges—bringing Western voices to Eastern readers, and enriching the conversation between us.Ìý

Beyond this connection, reading expands my own world. My direct experience is limited; yet through books, I gain access to lives and places I would never otherwise know.Ìý

Kiran Shahnawaz

Senior Product Manager, English & ECCE, OUP Pakistan

Reading was my first way of understanding the world. I grew up reading fiction—Dastan-e-Ameer Hamza, One Thousand and One Nights, Roald Dahl, Beatrix Potter and many more. Through these stories, I travelled long before I ever left home. When I finally began to travel in real life, I realized that no place felt completely strange and no people felt entirely new. Beneath all our differences, we share the same longings—for belonging, kindness, and hope.

That understanding is at the heart of why I love what I do today. My work lets me expand access to reading in a country where so many children —o±¹±ð°ù a third—are under 15, and where stories can help build identity, familiarity, and connection with the world. And to me, that’s the most meaningful part of what we do at ÌÇÐÄVlog. Through and , we’re opening doors to a world that values many voices, where everyone can see themselves in the stories we tell.

Angeline Matthews

Editorial Assistant, Academic

What reading means to me has changed quite significantly over time. What was a hobby, entertainment, and an imaginative outlet has grown into a passion, career, and everyday resource. From my childhood mystery story days, to the YA moments of the teens, to classic literature in college—I have since pivoted from fiction alone. I decided I wanted to learn something new as often as posisble, which is what led me to OUP, and exploring nonfiction and academic reading.

Reading does not have one meaning; it has several. It contextualizes the majority of comprehension. Reading is understanding: fiction allows us to make sense of the complexities of the human experience, while research allows us to explore critical thought and gain knowledge wherever we choose to seek it. To me, reading means everything. To me, it encompasses both the necessary and the metaphysical.

Anna Silva

Publicity Manager, Academic

I see reading as both an opportunity to escape, and to engage and connect. A book offers the chance to travel to an Italian coastal village—feel the heat of the summer sun on my upturned face, hear the cicadas in the long grass—when the weather outside the window has failed to deliver. As I read with my children, we visit fantastical words together, and laugh at ridiculous situations, but also meet people far outside the realms of our daily experience. Books offer readers the chance to think across millennia, and to consider the present; to see the parallels and divergences in human experience across time and space. To me, reading is an essential gateway to engaging with the meaning of our lives.

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