‘You’ll need help from your adult assistant’: Readership accommodation in children’s recipes

Abstract

Abstract This article investigates how children’s recipes are adapted structurally and linguistically for their young readership. It is based on comparative data, using 24 children’s and 24 adults’ versions of the same recipes, and additional online and printed children’s recipes as reference. Even though recipes have been researched extensively, research on recipes for children in particular is rare. Based on general research on facilitation methods in recipe writing, the article analyzes how children, as the target readership, are accommodated in the analyzed recipes and how they differ from recipes intended for adults. Findings suggest that children’s recipes often have an appealing title, are more detailed and clearer, and use visual support. There is a tendency to reduce presuppositions and include additional advice. However, they seem less consistent than adult recipes and, in contrast to the general trend for accommodation, often use technical terminology without further explanations. The request for an adult helper distinguishes children’s from adults’ recipes and serves as a differentiating feature. These findings indicate that children’s recipes are adapted to the particular context and needs of a young and inexperienced audience.