Debate analysis (1858)

Sat Oct 4 12:47:19 UTC 2008

At 10/4/2008 06:42 AM, David Barnhart wrote:
>I saw this this morning on Google News.
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>http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/03/debate.words/?iref=mpstoryview

Which says;
"The analysis said Abraham Lincoln spoke at an 11th-grade level
during his seven debates in 1858 against incumbent Stephen A. Douglas
in their race for a Senate seat from Illinois."

What was the 11th grade level in 1858?  Did Lincoln learn to speak
that way in the 11th grade?  Was there an 11th grade in 1858?

Joel

>The 6th grade estimate for newspapers doesn't hold up for NYT.  Maybe it
>applies to USA Today?
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>DKB
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>Barnhart at highlands.com
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>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org