Is Donald Trump’s ‘broken speech’ the key to his success? Linguists say strange patterns may make him more ‘authentic, relatable and trustworthy’

Broken speech, fragmented sentences and a limited vocabulary are phrases that have been used to describe Donald Trump's speech.

Although this would normally ruin a presidential campaign, in this case some experts say it could be what propelled Trump to the top of the polls.

Researchers found that the way 'The Donald' speaks mirrors the average conversation - which makes supporters believe he is an honest outsider.

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Broken speech, fragmented sentences and a limited vocabulary are phrases that have been used to describe Donald Trump's speech. Researchers find that the way 'The Donald' speaks mirrors the average conversation, which makes supporters believe he is an honest outsider

Trump's language style has made him standout among the competition and has wooed many voters into supporting his campaign.

'Trump's speech is appealing to many because it contrasts with the rehearsed style of other candidates,' Georgetown University linguist Jennifer Sclafani told DailyMail.

'His conversational style contributes to his overall image as a political outsider and as an 'authentic' candidate, which is an important quality to American voters.'

'On one hand, people's different reactions to the way he speaks mirror other differences in opinions about qualities we consider important when judging presidential candidates.'

'Research in political communication has shown that voters' political leanings can also affect their interpretations of a candidate's coherence and rhetorical style, so people who like Trump for other reasons may be influenced to also appreciate his linguistic style.'

Carnegie Mellon University's Language Technologies Institute found that most presidential candidates use words and grammar that are typical of students in grades six through eight. 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.

Trump graduated from Wharton School, has written many New York Times bestsellers and is worth $4 billion.

Looking at these facts, one would think he would use structured sentences and have a large vocabulary, but his sentences are fragmented and very simple when addressing the masses during debates and rallies.

'Fragmented sentences are actually quite natural and common in everyday speech, regardless of what language a person is speaking or other factors like the geographical origin, social class, or educational background of the speaker,' said Sclafani.

'People take notice of Trump's fragmented sentences because they are less common in formal public speeches, which are often first written and rehearsed or read from a teleprompter.'

'When Trump speaks in public in a more conversational style, like in a victory speech or in a debate, he appears to many as a more relatable candidate because he speaks in the way we all do in everyday life.'

HOW TO SPEAK LIKE 'THE DONALD'

His conversational style contributes to his overall image as a political outsider and as an 'authentic' candidate, which is an important quality to American voters.

On one hand, people's different reactions to the way he speaks mirror other differences in opinions about qualities we consider important when judging presidential candidates. 

People take notice of Trump's fragmented sentences because they are less common in formal public speeches, which are often first written and rehearsed or read from a teleprompter.

When Trump speaks in public in a more conversational style, like in a victory speech or in a debate, he appears to many as a more relatable candidate because he speaks in the way we all do in everyday life.

Trump uses what linguists refer to as 'metalinguistic' or 'metadiscursive' expressions a lot - simply put, talk about talk. 

And he tends to talk about his own talk. 

When a candidate says 'I've been saying this for a long time', or 'I've said this before and I'll say it again', these references to repeating oneself can be an effective discursive strategy in constructing one's identity as a consistent candidate. 

'His conversational style contributes to his overall image as a political outsider and as an 'authentic' candidate, which is an important quality to American voters.' People's different reactions to the way he speaks mirror other differences in opinions about qualities we consider important when judging candidates

'As some say, it makes him seem like 'someone you could have a beer with.'

Some voters have made comments about how the republican candidate repeats words and phrases during his speech -- even ex-nominees have spoken out about it.

Researcher has shown that Trump does repeat word and the most repeated word is 'I', the fourth is 'Trump' and eight out of the top 13 words are one syllable with a few two syllable words that are simple – 'China' and 'money', reports ThinkProgress.

'Trump uses what linguists refer to as 'metalinguistic' or 'metadiscursive' expressions a lot - simply put, talk about talk. And he tends to talk about his own talk,' said Sclafani.

'He is not actually repeating himself: we'd have to go back to earlier speeches and check and see whether whatever he says next was actually said before in order to determine whether he's repeating himself.'

'Instead, he is talking about repeating himself.

'When a candidate says 'I've been saying this for a long time', or 'I've said this before and I'll say it again', these references to repeating oneself can be an effective discursive strategy in constructing one's identity as a consistent candidate.'

'He's not repeating himself, he is talking about repeating himself. When a candidate says 'I've been saying this for a long time', or 'I've said this before and I'll say it again', these references to repeating oneself can be an effective discursive strategy in constructing one's identity as a consistent candidate'

In addition to speaking with a broken speech, a separate study has found that Trump also speaks at a sixth grade level.

Carnegie Mellon University's Language Technologies Institute found that most presidential candidates use words and grammar that are typical of students in grades six through eight.

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.

Candidates ranged from Trump's 7th grade level to Sanders' 10th grade level. Trump and Hillary Clinton's speeches showed the greatest variation, suggesting they may work harder than the others in tailoring speeches to particular audiences

Again, Trump differs from the group, as his grammar use spiked in his Iowa Caucus concession speech and his word grammar and usage plummeted during this Nevada Caucus victory speech.

'Win,' after all, is more likely to appear in 3rd grade texts than 'regrettably.'

Researchers compared the present nominees to previous presidents –Abraham Lincoln and George W. Bush.

Lincoln proved to show grammar at the 11th grade level, while Bush was at a fifth grade grammar level.

'Assessing the readability of campaign speeches is a little tricky because most measures are geared to the written word, yet text is very different from the spoken word,' said Maxine Eskenazi, LTI principal systems scientist.

'When we speak, we usually use less structured language with shorter sentences.'

The Boston Globe used the Flesch-Kincaid readability test, which analyses the average length of a sentence and average number of syllables per word, to produce a separate analysis.

Researchers compared the present nominees to previous presidents –Abraham Lincoln and George W. Bush. Analysis found Gettysburg address was written and presented with grammar well above the 10th grade level. And George W. Bush scored at a fifth grade level

This test proved Trump is speaking at a fourth grade level, which is two grades below the rest of the candidates.

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University used a readability model called REAP to examine how often words and grammatical constructs are used at each grade level and if they correspond better to the analysis of spoken language.

The team chose campaign speeches from Lincoln, Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama, which were all found to be no less than an eighth grade level.

While the current candidates varied from Trump's seventh grade level to Sanders 10th grade level.

Trump and Hillary Clinton's speeches showed the most variation, suggesting they may work harder than other in tailoring speeches depending on the audience, explained Elliot Schumacher, graduate researcher assistant and co-author of the paper.

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

But none of the presidents or current nominees can hold a candle to Lincoln's Gettysburg address, says researchers.

Analysis found the speech was written and presented with grammar well above the 10th grade level.

The current nominees scored between sixth and seventh grades, with Trump hanging in the sixth grade level.

And George W. Bush scored at a fifth grade level.