Posted on 03/18/2016 7:10:05 PM PDT by markomalley
Donald Trump's use of vocabulary and grammar is more elementary than that of other candidates, according to a new study that compared the candidates' English language skills.
The New York businessman's grammar was comparable to a 5th grader's, lower than the average 6th to 8th grade levels used by Democratic Sens. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, as well as Republican Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, according to a newly released Carnegie Mellon University's Language Technologies Institute study.
Sanders scored highest in vocabulary, and was ranked at the level of an 11th grader. Trump was most comparable to a 7th grader, while Clinton, Cruz and Rubio were all ranked between 9th and 10th grade.
"This analysis shows the changes that candidates make in the level of their speech according to the type of speech," wrote report analysts Elliot Schumacher and Maxine Eskenazi. "It also reflects each candidate's combination of personal delivery style and their analysis of the level of the audience they want to address."
Ohio Gov. John Kasich was not included in the survey, and Rubio has since suspended his campaign following a loss in Florida's primary Tuesday.
The in-depth analysis even compared this year's candidates to previous U.S. presidents. Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan both boasted the highest cumulative speaking skills with averages hovering around a 10th grade level.
George W. Bush's grammar was rated worse than Trump's, ranked between 4th and 5th grade. But where Bush faltered in grammar, he made up for in vocabulary, which was at a 10th grade level.
The Donald is a Mensch!
Ugh,... ah, ummm, ........let me say .....ugh, ...ah, ....umm, that Republicans .... ah...umm...are all ah.....racists.
I correct grammar for a living. The conclusion here is incorrect. Trump has his own style of speaking and it’s not ungrammatical.
And as far as vocabulary, he has used a few words that I had to look up. The other candidates, zero.
As Andrew Breitbart said about someone once, “He speaks in iambic pentameter.” Then he did a hilarious imitation.
The example you give is actually vernacular in the British Isles. No one would put “I” in its academically correct place in a sentence like that. And only pedants do it here.
You are no doubt referring to the famous incomplete sentences. It’s a fast way of talking, leaving the rest of the sentence to the listener and actually making more sense than it would otherwise.
Yes! As he says, Cruz can debate but he can’t talk. Amen!
You forgot “folks”.
Scott Adams has really had some good insights this election season. It has been quite interesting. He’s a smart guy in general, was a PacBell engineer before becoming a cartoonist full time, as I remember. I used to subscribe to Dogbert’s New World Order Newsletter. The idea being that when Dogbert attained his goal of being supreme ruler of the Earth, the subscribers would of course be part of the ruling class. This back in the late 90s. It was quite witty and fun, beyond the daily cartoon. Often written from the perspective of Dogbert, of course.
Make that four. Remember “my”.
The first question successful public speakers ask themselves is "Who is my audience?"
You're assuming he's a one trick pony. I doubt it.
Heck, for all we have seen of his transcripts and exam grades, Obola DID flunk out of every English class he ever took/attended/was offered while he was registered.
(We till don’t even know what he took! )
I have the same impression here, and I know exactly what you are talking about. Part of Trump’s style is a typical NY directness, unlike anything you would find on the Pacific Coast.
agreed... I particularly like his books, “How to fail at almost everything and still win big” is a must read in terms of creating systems for success.
“I’m talking about vocabulary. His is unbelievably limited. That will put him at a tremendous disadvantage in negotiating with foreign leaders”
Ronald Reagan - “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
Succinct, simple, to-the-point and written so a 5th grader could understand.
I object! He can use seven words: "Let me be clear, I, uh, um."
Reagan spoke articulately and beautifully. “Tear down this wall” was memorable, but not a good example of how he spoke. I lived in CA throughout both of his terms as governor and elsewhere during both terms of his presidency. Don’t be so simplistic.
“Don’t be so simplistic.”
Don’t be stuffy.
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