Oxford Junior Dictionary’s replacement of ‘natural’ words with 21st-century terms sparks outcryHow can we teach our children about the biodiversity crisis and protecting native plants and animals from extinction if they don’t have the words to name and recognize them? “A” should be for acorn, “B” for buttercup and “C” for carrot, not attachment, blog and chatroom, according to a group of authors including Margaret Atwood and Andrew Motion who are “profoundly alarmed” about the loss of a slew of words associated with the natural world from the Oxford Junior Dictionary, and their replacement with words “associated with the increasingly interior, solitary childhoods of today”.
The 28 authors, including Atwood, Motion, Michael Morpurgo and Robert Macfarlane, warned that the decision to cut around 50 words connected with nature and the countryside from the 10,000-entry children’s dictionary, is “shocking and poorly considered” in the light of the decline in outdoor play for today’s children.
The likes of almond, blackberry and crocus first made way for analogue, block graph and celebrity. The current edition maintained the changes, and instead of catkin, cauliflower, chestnut and clover, today’s edition of the dictionary, which is aimed at seven-year-olds, features cut and paste, broadband and analogue.
“We recognize the need to introduce new words and to make room for them and do not intend to comment in detail on the choice of words added. However, it is worrying that in contrast to those taken out, many are associated with the interior, solitary childhoods of today. In light of what is known about the benefits of natural play and connection to nature; and the dangers of their lack, we think the choice of words to be omitted shocking and poorly considered,” the authors have written to OUP.
“When, in 2007, the OJD made the changes, this connection was understood, but less well publicized than now. The research evidence showing the links between natural play and wellbeing; and between disconnection from nature and social ills, is mounting.”
The 28 signatories to the letter, who also include Sara Maitland, Helen Macdonald, and Ruth Padel, say their concern is “not just a romantic desire to reflect the rosy memories of our own childhoods onto today’s youngsters”.
“There is a shocking, proven connection between the decline in natural play and the decline in children’s wellbeing,” they write, pointing to research which found that a generation ago, 40% of children regularly played in natural areas, compared to 10% today, with a further 40% never playing outdoors. “Obesity, anti-social behavior, friendlessness and fear are the known consequences,” they say. |