Daniel makes stuff, and, in his spare time, writes about things like movies, kid culture, and geek stuff.
The Language of Lego

When Giles Turnbull stopped to think about it, he realised that a whole, often completely unique nomenclature crops up among families that play with Lego bricks.

Every family, it seems, has its own set of words for describing particular Lego pieces. No one uses the official names. “Dad, please could you pass me that Brick 2×2?” No. In our house, it’ll always be: “Dad, please could you pass me that four-er?”

And I’ll pass it, because I know exactly which piece he means. Lego nomenclature is essential for family Lego building.

Faced with this realisation – and operating in the name of Good Old Curiosity – Turnbull set out to see how the nomenclature for the same pieces varied among different kids and families. What follows is a tremendous reference table comparing four different kids’ takes on the names for pieces – and a pretty doggone good example of how to do quality, respectful research with kids.

Oh, and for the record: My own personal Lego nomenclature, it seems, tends toward a mix-up between six-year-old Raimi’s rather whimsical naming system and seven-year-old Jem’s somewhat more precise language.

Nov 06, 2009 :: Tagged under: , , , :: #

OMG! Texting Does Not Affect Children's Ability To Spell

There’s a new study out that, yet again, shows that texting doesn’t negatively affect children’s language abilities:

The study, published in Reading and Writing, involved third-year psychology students led by Professor Connie Varnhagen to examine minors’ text usage habits. The group surveyed 40 students between the ages of 12 and 17, asking them to save their instant messages for a week and then complete a standardized spelling test at the end of the survey. What they found was not what everyone has come to expect—that kids who engage heavily in abbreviated chat would perform poorly on spelling tests—but that kids’ text speak generally mirrored their real-life skills.

“Kids who are good spellers [academically] are good spellers in instant messaging,” Varnhagen said. “And kids who are poor spellers in English class are poor spellers in instant messaging.”

But there’s more (good) news from the study:

Varnhagen added that using this “new type of language” and translating it to standard English requires more concentration and attention than simply sticking to English, akin to “a little brain workout.”

I feel it’s really best to compare texting to language dualism, i.e. a second language; it doesn’t replace or hinder your primary language, but is something that can be used along with it. The simple act of translating between the two, then, is very much something of a mental workout, encouraging concentration and developing your brain’s elasticity.

(Via The Barking Robot.)

Sep 23, 2009 :: Tagged under: , , :: #