Candidates Talk to Us at a 6th to 8th Grade Level, Except Trump (5th Grade)
Pretty depressing. We all know that many Americans are at a 5th grade level when it comes to education and knowing what's going on in the country. But did you know that the presidential candidates speak at a 6th-to-8th grade level? A readability analysis of presidential candidate speeches by researchers in Carnegie Mellon University's Language Technologies Institute (LTI) finds most candidates using words and grammar typical of students in grades 6-8, though Donald Trump tends to lag behind the others (big surprise), according to newswise.com. A historical review of their word and grammar use suggests all five candidates in the analysis - Republicans Trump, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio (who has since suspended his campaign), and Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders - have been using simpler language as the campaigns have progressed. Again, Trump is an outlier, with his grammar use spiking in his Iowa Caucus concession speech and his word and grammar use plu...