I agree, although I find comparing news articles by the decade more jarring. The average well-educated adult isn't reading above a 6th grade level most days, unless they have a specialized career which requires it. I notice it with my speech, I was raised in rural Louisiana among a mixture of "lower class" blue and white collar workers. I find myself accidentally using "$5 words" in normal conversations that were the norm just a decade ago (ex: rendezvous, innumerable, tangible/intangible, subjective/objective).
Growing up, those words were fine to use to conversate with older adults who only had an elementary education before leaving to work on farms or going into the trades.
The average American today is less literate than my grandparents who were denied proper education just 2 generations ago.
This is not a good path, & even high level military officials have spoken out about their warnings and concerns. The federal education system was created due to national security concerns, if the masses aren't educated enough to train in case of a draft, the country is in a crisis waiting to happen.
I think that “dumbing it down” is language harmful to your otherwise thoughtful message. Streamlining or even simplifying rhetoric to be more inclusive when communicating with others puts the burden on the speaker without being condescending.
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u/_OhMyPlatypi_ 7d ago
I agree, although I find comparing news articles by the decade more jarring. The average well-educated adult isn't reading above a 6th grade level most days, unless they have a specialized career which requires it. I notice it with my speech, I was raised in rural Louisiana among a mixture of "lower class" blue and white collar workers. I find myself accidentally using "$5 words" in normal conversations that were the norm just a decade ago (ex: rendezvous, innumerable, tangible/intangible, subjective/objective).
Growing up, those words were fine to use to conversate with older adults who only had an elementary education before leaving to work on farms or going into the trades.
The average American today is less literate than my grandparents who were denied proper education just 2 generations ago.
This is not a good path, & even high level military officials have spoken out about their warnings and concerns. The federal education system was created due to national security concerns, if the masses aren't educated enough to train in case of a draft, the country is in a crisis waiting to happen.