Study title

This study explores the integration of corpus linguistic and sociolinguistic approaches for the analysis of a unique 4-million word longitudinal corpus of messages posted to the 'Teenage Health Freak' website. The website, run by UK-based GPs, is designed to be interactive, confidential and evidence-based providing adolescents with accessible advice and information pertaining to a broad range of health issues. The descriptive advantages afforded by the tools of corpus linguistics will be used to inform sociolinguistic observations of adolescent language innovation and change on the specific topic of health care. Key words and key phrases used by adolescent advice-seekers, with associated meanings and patterns of use over a period of ten years, will be extracted from the corpus and then analysed to highlight emergent trends in adolescent sociolinguistic style and register. As well as the academic value of this combined methodological approach, the findings of the analysis will be made available to health care providers and users of health care services in the form of a practical, encyclopaedic resource, thus contributing to the continuous professional development of user groups in the NHS, as well as being a resource for parents, teachers and adolescents themselves.