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Trump's English skills ranked worst of all candidates
Washington Examiner ^ | 3/18/16 | Anna Giaritelli

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.


TOPICS: Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: dirtyandinarticulate; grammar; idiocracy; lincoln; reagan; trump; vocabulary
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To: StAntKnee

I left high school with a second year college reading level, which has only improved with time. I still can’t comprehend half of Obama’s dreck.


101 posted on 03/18/2016 8:50:36 PM PDT by Windflier (Pitchforks and torches ripen on the vine. Left too long, they become black rifles.)
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To: markomalley

Grammar nazis!


102 posted on 03/18/2016 8:59:40 PM PDT by Lent
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To: markomalley

But he gets his message across.


103 posted on 03/18/2016 9:22:22 PM PDT by TYVets
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To: markomalley

One place I worked aimed at 5th grade level to ensure that the message was absolutely not going to be misunderstood by anyone.

Writing to other professionals, using jargon of our field, my typical writing rates up in the 13s and 14s. Useful for its purpose, but not for everyone.

Writing at the 5th grade level is a bit of work but the result is definitely a document that has exactly one meaning.


104 posted on 03/18/2016 9:33:54 PM PDT by No.6
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To: Robert A. Cook, PE

“verbose” is not a complement. If one is verbose he uses about 20 words to say something that could be said in 12 . Obummer would have been thrown out of Wittenberg (my alma mater). after flunking Freshman English .

Funny. Obola is considered such a verbose, stunning orator. Until he loses his teleprompter.


105 posted on 03/18/2016 9:37:23 PM PDT by RightLady (God Bless the USA)
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To: markomalley

OK, Trump can’t be elected High School English Teacher...


106 posted on 03/18/2016 9:37:59 PM PDT by GOPJ (The Democrat Party - - white liberal elites propped up by the black underclass.)
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To: markomalley

Anna Giaritelli serves as the press secretary for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) in Washington, D.C. She previously wrote for Rare, CQ Roll Call and the Washington Examiner. Her freelance work has been published by The Oregonian, Human Events, Daily Caller and the Heartland Institute.

107 posted on 03/18/2016 9:40:39 PM PDT by kcvl
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To: markomalley

He speaks in simple terms. Average Americans do the same. Notice that is AMERICANS and not foreign nationals. Attorneys and the like speak in an entirely different language. WTP enjoy listening persons who speak plain English;conversing with them.

TO TRUMP GO FAR AND GO FAST!!


108 posted on 03/18/2016 9:49:30 PM PDT by V K Lee (u TRUMP TRUMP TRUMP to TRIUMPH Follow the lead MAKE AMERICA GREAT)
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To: altura

Let not your heart be troubled. The Donald could never pass the bar.”

Once about 20 years ago a tiny percentage of law students passed the Washington State Bar. They gave the exam again. The part they were failing was the ethics exam.

That is one reason we do not need any more attorney presidential candidates.


109 posted on 03/18/2016 9:57:22 PM PDT by angry elephant (Endangered species in Seattle)
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To: markomalley
Uh, they should have assessed his COMMUNICATION SKILLS.

Surely he's the gold standard.

110 posted on 03/18/2016 9:59:41 PM PDT by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: markomalley

What speech level is barking like a dog?


111 posted on 03/18/2016 10:02:09 PM PDT by angry elephant (Endangered species in Seattle)
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To: uncitizen

Correct. The career politicians...all they do is give polished speeches all day long. All talk, screw the country, serve their ultra-rich donor masters.


112 posted on 03/18/2016 10:06:16 PM PDT by entropy12 (When you vote, you are actually voting for the candidate's rich donors!)
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To: mlizzy

Best defense is good offense!


113 posted on 03/18/2016 10:08:46 PM PDT by entropy12 (When you vote, you are actually voting for the candidate's rich donors!)
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To: markomalley

Ping.


114 posted on 03/18/2016 10:34:54 PM PDT by libertylover (The problem with Obama is not that his skin is too black, it's that his ideas are too RED.)
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To: markomalley
Trump's English skills ranked worst of all candidates

Standard English perhaps, but with public profanity, insults, and other angry rhetoric he's pretty good.


115 posted on 03/18/2016 11:41:26 PM PDT by caveat emptor
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To: markomalley

Not sure how to grade this incomprehensible steaming pile of random gibberish Trump offered up at a debate.

HEWITT: Mr. Trump... Dr. Carson just referenced the single most important job of the president, the command, the control and the care of our nuclear forces. And he mentioned the triad. The B-52s are older than I am. The missiles are old. The submarines are aging out. It’s an executive order. It’s a commander-in-chief decision.

What’s your priority among our nuclear triad?

TRUMP: Well, first of all, I think we need somebody absolutely that we can trust, who is totally responsible; who really knows what he or she is doing. That is so powerful and so important. And one of the things that I’m frankly most proud of is that in 2003, 2004, I was totally against going into Iraq because you’re going to destabilize the Middle East. I called it. I called it very strongly. And it was very important.

But we have to be extremely vigilant and extremely careful when it comes to nuclear. Nuclear changes the whole ball game. Frankly, I would have said get out of Syria; get out – if we didn’t have the power of weaponry today. The power is so massive that we can’t just leave areas that 50 years ago or 75 years ago we wouldn’t care. It was hand-to-hand combat.

The biggest problem this world has today is not President Obama with global warming, which is inconceivable, this is what he’s saying. The biggest problem we have is nuclear – nuclear proliferation and having some maniac, having some madman go out and get a nuclear weapon. That’s in my opinion, that is the single biggest problem that our country faces right now.

(From Trump’s response, it’s clear that he either has no idea what the nuclear triad is, or that he had no idea what the question was and just decided to go with some sort of free-form jazz riff on the topic of “anything nuclear.” But even after Hewitt threw Trump another clue, he replied with total gibberish.)

HEWITT: Of the three legs of the triad, though, do you have a priority? I want to go to Senator Rubio after that and ask him.

TRUMP: I think – I think, for me, nuclear is just the power, the devastation is very important to me.


116 posted on 03/18/2016 11:49:36 PM PDT by Dagnabitt (Islamic Immigration is Treason.)
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To: caveat emptor

I’ve never heard a 5th grader talk about corporate inversions but maybe I just hang out with the dumb kids.

Trump talks tough, but he doesn’t talk stupid.

Another swing and a miss from the Never Trump goons.

As long as Trump kicks the right butts, he’s okay in my book.

Nobody’s trying to elect World’s Nicest Person.

We’re talking about the leader of the free world here.

We need a man who doesn’t ask for respect but instead demands respect.

I hope foreigners and Democrats are scared. They should be.


117 posted on 03/19/2016 12:00:30 AM PDT by Bird Jenkins
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To: huckfillary

Well said!!


118 posted on 03/19/2016 12:54:04 AM PDT by Gator113 (~~Go Trump, GO!!~~ Just livin' life my way. Don't worry, everything's gonna be alright.)
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To: markomalley
For those of us who have to speak and write to a wide variety of audiences in a business setting, we understand that our speech and writing must be adjusted so that the majority of our audience will easily and comfortably understand us.

So is that what Hillie was doing with the "Ah ain't in no wayz tarred"? or maybe the "Arf arf arf arf arf"? LOL.

119 posted on 03/19/2016 1:23:40 AM PDT by Zack Attack
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To: SkyPilot
Trump Speaking in a Posh British Accent

That is perfection!

120 posted on 03/19/2016 1:48:14 AM PDT by cynwoody
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