Teen follies

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

On Dec 14, 2006, at 6:54 AM, Jon Lighter wrote:

> BBC sez: "Teenagers use just 20 words for a third of their speech,
> according to a new study by Lancaster University."
>
>   They're British teens. No telling about ours.
>
>   Two of the words may be "porn" and "dekeck."
>
>   Don't take my word for it; take the quiz instead:
>
>   http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6179573.stm

the crack staff at Language Log Plaza is at work on tracking down the
source of the story.  BBC News will apparently believe anything (and
will cheerfully re-work stories so as to make them more exciting and
entertaining -- think cow dialects, for example).  we're thinking of
giving them some kind of award for their reporting on language issues.

so stay tuned.

arnold

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org