Language Research

Optimum’s unique research into the English used everyday throughout Britain is based on conversations among 265 people in 34 groups. These groups are classified by socio-economic level, region and age.

We then analysed vocabulary in the selected samples by source language (Greek, French, Old English etc.) using software written for the purpose. Newspaper articles, government information releases and speeches by public figures were also analysed. The language used in these was then compared with the English used by the public.

The samples of conversation were selected from the British National Corpus* (BNC) to represent a cross-section of UK citizens. To obtain the body of natural conversation in the corpus, BNC researchers asked people to record conversations among family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances. The volunteers made their recordings at home, in the workplace and at social venues including pubs and clubs.

With no researchers present, it is clear from the transcripts that speakers start to talk naturally within two minutes. The length of the recordings, averaging 3,600 words per speaker, ensures the impact of any initial attempt to ‘show off’ by using unusual vocabulary is very small.

Frequencies of word use and preferences between pairs of synonyms were also studied. The findings from this study were used in compiling a 17,500 word definition of everyday English.

* The British National Corpus is a very large (over 100 million words) corpus of modern English, both spoken and written. The project was carried out and is managed by an industrial/academic consortium lead by Oxford University Press, of which the other members are major dictionary publishers Addison-Wesley Longman and Larousse Kingfisher Chambers; academic research centres at Oxford University Computing Services, Lancaster University's Centre for Computer Research on the English Language, and the British Library's Research and Innovation Centre