Interview with Patt Morrison on Southern California Public Radio about a report on the “grade level” of Congressional speech. (May 23, 2012)
Is there something to be said for speaking simply? Do tests like the Flesch-Kincaid undervalue conciseness? Do these ratings have anything do with actual smarts? What do you think of the level of dialogue in Congress? How do you want your politicians to communicate with you?
Guests:
Lee Drutnam, senior fellow, Sunlight Foundation; member of the team responsible for the study; adjunct professor, political science, John Hopkins University
Ben Zimmer, language columnist, Boston Globe; executive producer, Visual Thesaurus and Vocabulary.com