Plastic is children's word of the year: OUP

"Plastic" has been declared the children's word of the year as it is most commonly used by them, indicating that they are aware about the hazards of plastic pollution, according to Oxford University Press.

The Oxford University Press analysed short stories submitted to BBC Radio 2's 500 Words competition.

Plastic, the ocean, Emmeline Pankhurst, Donald Trump, Brexit, Korea, Grenfell Tower, unicorns, slime and computer game Fortnite are some of the people and subjects that influence British children's creativity and use of language, says a report published today by Oxford University Press (OUP).

Plastic is the Oxford Children's Word of the Year because of its significant increase in use in the competition (a total rise of more than 100 per cent on the 2017 competition).

Children use plastic in their stories in an emotive way to convey their understanding of the damage pollution is causing to marine life, drawing on their creativity and imagination to deliver powerful descriptive imagery in stories, with titles such as The Plastic Shore, The Mermaid's Plastic Mission and The Evil Mr Plastic, OUP said in a statement.

Vineeta Gupta, head of Children's Dictionaries at OUP, was quoted in the statement as saying: "Children have shown they are acutely aware of the impact plastic has on our environment and how it will affect their own future. They have used their stories to devise imaginative ways to combat this issue and bring about change in their world."