AS IT IS 2016-04-07 Do You Speak English Better than US Candidates?

AS IT IS 2016-04-07 Do You Speak English Better than US Candidates?

This is What’s Trending Today.

A new study suggests you might be a better English speaker than the candidates running for president of the United States. 

Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania studied the candidates’ grammar and vocabulary. The researchers at the school’s Language Technologies Institute say Donald Trump² has the lowest score out of five candidates. He used 5th grade level grammar and vocabulary at the level of an average seventh grader.

The researchers also studied Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Ted¹ Cruz and Marco Rubio.

The candidates were compared to Abraham Lincoln, who was president over 150 years ago. President Barack Obama and former presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan were also studied.

They found that Lincoln used the best grammar. Reagan’s speeches had the most developed vocabulary.

The study says Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address was at the 8th grade level. He spoke³ in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in 1863.

Lincoln told the gathering⁴ to be resolved “that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Among the current candidates, the study finds Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has the best vocabulary. The researchers placed his usage at an 11th grade level.

The study used the speeches each candidate made to start their campaigns.

The study says the candidates change their vocabulary and grammar based on who is listening. They also have been making their words and ideas easier to understand as the campaign continues.

The researchers say it is not a perfect analysis. That is because the study is based on speeches. People usually speak in a simpler, less formal style than they write.

So saying that Trump is campaigning at the level of an 11-year-old is not completely fair. But people had fun with the news on social media, anyway.

New York Magazine made a video about the study last week. So far it has over 1 million views and almost 15,000 shares on Facebook.

One person made fun of all the candidates, saying: “the moral is that none of our leaders don't talk none too good.”

Another person wrote: “Most America has the grammar of an 11-year old.”

The president with the worst grammar, but a pretty good vocabulary? George W. Bush. But maybe you already thought that.

Words in This Story

grammar – n. the set of rules that explain how words are used in a language

vocabulary – adj. the words that make up a language

perish – v. to disappear or be destroyed

analysis – n. a careful study of something to learn about its parts, what they do, and how they are related to each other

formal – adj. suitable for serious or official speech and writing

1 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。