ACCORDING to Oxford University Press (OUP) the most commonly used words in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire are ‘swans’ and ‘harmonica’.

The revelations come following the OUP’s analysis of the 123,436 entries for the 2016 BBC Radio 2 Chris Evans Breakfast Show’s ‘500 Words’ short story competition.

Using specialized software for the first time in the competition’s history, all the entries were analysed by an academic and technology team from Oxford University.

The results found the top ten most commonly used words in each county’s entries in the competition.

In Gloucestershire the top 10 words used more than any other are:

  • harmonica
  • moles
  • sheriff
  • gangsters
  • blitz
  • ballerina
  • flowery
  • tracker
  • pepperoni
  • snowmen

In Wiltshire the top 10 words are:

  • swans
  • kangaroos
  • crunchie
  • eagles
  • cable
  • otter
  • tulips
  • nappy         
  • fleas
  • velociraptor

‘Refugee’ was found to be the Children’s Word of the Year, due to a significant increase in usage by entrants writing in this year’s competition.

There was also a marked increase in vocabulary associated with refugees, words such as boat, camp, dinghy, crisis, border, shelter, journey, sea, desperate, safe, flee, travel, and trek.

OUP’s analysis of the stories found that children’s attitudes towards refugees was empathetic.

One entrant wrote: “I’m in France . . . place called Calais. It turns out that nobody wants us after all. There was no gold at the end of the rainbow. I have no idea when or how I will get away from this prison.”

Vineeta Gupta, Head of Children’s Dictionaries at Oxford University Press, said of this year’s results: “The children writing in this year’s competition have demonstrated a sophisticated use of language in their storytelling.

“They have used rich descriptions to convey emotion and have produced powerful stories that resonate with the reader. Our extensive research has provided a deeper understanding of children’s language skills across the UK and we continue to be inspired by their creativity.”