Donald Trump uses grammar in his political speeches at a level suitable for an 11-year-old, a new study has found. US researchers made their findings by analysing the language used by the property tycoon, as well as other fellow Republican Party members Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. Linguists at Carnegie Mellon University found that Mr Cruz and Mr Rubio used grammar which would be suitable for children aged between 11 and 14-year-olds. Meanwhile, Democratic presidential candidate hopefuls Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton used language reflecting the knowledge of 15 to 18-year-olds and 11 to 14-year-olds, respectively. So, how do your grammar skills measure up to an 11-year-old's? Take this quiz to find out.
COMMENT
I'm pleased (relieved) to report that I got 7 out of 7, so my reputation is intact! One or two of the questions were quite tricky, however.
NOTE
The most linguistically sophisticated president was Abraham Lincoln. George W Bush emerged as the president with the most primitive grammar, but his vocabulary was as polished as that deployed by Barack Obama, who is considered to be a good orator.
ALSO SEE
• Trump’s grammar in speeches ‘just below 6th grade level,’ study finds (Washington Post)
• Trump supporters have the worst Facebook grammar, study finds (Washington Post)
• Study on campaign speeches says Trump's grammar typical of children aged 10-11 (SFGate)
• Fascinating analysis of the way Trump uses words (Boing Boing)
