Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka huruvida det finns någon relevans i påståendet att ungdomar är sämre på att skriva idag jämfört med för tjugofem år sedan. I studien analyseras och jämförs uppsatser ur nationella provet från 1988, 1989, 2010 och 2015 ur ett språkriktighetsperspektiv. Därutöver görs jämförelser såväl mellan könen som mellan skolor för att synliggöra eventuella skillnader samt diskutera orsaker bakom dessa. Materialet består av 40 uppsatser, 10 från varje år, som noggrant närlästs i avseende att upptäcka eventuella förekomster av stavfel, särskrivningar, talspråkliga inslag, talspråksformen dom eller felaktigt bruk av de och/eller dem. Under uppsatsläsningen fördes statistik över antalet funna normavvikelser. Resultaten visar att det är typen av fel snarare än mängden som förändrats över tid. Stavfelen har minskat markant medan såväl talspråkliga inslag som felaktig användning av de och/eller dem ökat. Vidare visar undersökningen att det finns skillnader mellan flickors och pojkars språkbruk och att dessa varierar över åren. En framträdande orsak till förändringarna tros vara att eleverna numera skriver på datorer med tillgång till stavnings- och grammatikkontroll. Utifrån undersökningen dras slutsatsen att ungdomars skrivförmåga inte försämrats utan förhåller sig relativt konstant.

<p>Abstract</p><p>This essay deals with young people’s written language. It is often said that the student’s ability to write is worse today compared to earlier generations. The written language is an important condition for knowledge, therefore it is of great importance that all students, after finished secondary- and upper secondary school, have acquired an adequate language which is suitable in the public room.</p><p>The fact that young people’s language is worse than earlier generations is a constantly recurrent assertion and often debated in school. Young people’s written language has never been so bad as it is today no matter when that time occurs. In order to find relevance in the statement, I have studied essays from 1985 and compared them with essays from 2005 and 2006.</p><p>The parameters I have studied are spelling mistakes, the wrong use of small and capital letter, syntax errors, writing in two words and the presence of spoken language. In order to compare the texts with each other as well as with earlier research a quantitative method was chosen.</p><p>The results show that the study’s ninth grade students ability to write is better today than twenty years ago. On the other hand, the study also shows that the written language among upper secondary students is worse today compared to 1985. Consequently, in order to answer this essay’s principal issue, if there is any relevance in the statement that it was better before, the question can be answered with both yes and no depending on which grade is referred to.</p><p>Keywords: Written language, comparison, spelling mistakes, student’s essays.</p>

Abstract This essay deals with young people’s written language. It is often said that the student’s ability to write is worse today compared to earlier generations. The written language is an important condition for knowledge, therefore it is of great importance that all students, after finished secondary- and upper secondary school, have acquired an adequate language which is suitable in the public room. The fact that young people’s language is worse than earlier generations is a constantly recurrent assertion and often debated in school. Young people’s written language has never been so bad as it is today no matter when that time occurs. In order to find relevance in the statement, I have studied essays from 1985 and compared them with essays from 2005 and 2006. The parameters I have studied are spelling mistakes, the wrong use of small and capital letter, syntax errors, writing in two words and the presence of spoken language. In order to compare the texts with each other as well as with earlier research a quantitative method was chosen. The results show that the study’s ninth grade students ability to write is better today than twenty years ago. On the other hand, the study also shows that the written language among upper secondary students is worse today compared to 1985. Consequently, in order to answer this essay’s principal issue, if there is any relevance in the statement that it was better before, the question can be answered with both yes and no depending on which grade is referred to. Keywords: Written language, comparison, spelling mistakes, student’s essays.