The Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test

FIGURE XXX displays the average number of deviations from standard English in each decade, as well as those instances taken as a percentage of the average number of total words in a song for its corresponding decade. FIGURE XXXX can be interpreted as, for example, in 1960 through 1969, the average number of deviations from standard English per song is just below 5, and this represents 2.32% of the song’s lyrics overall. The general message which the chart exposes is that in each decade there are instances of deviations from standard English found at low frequencies. The highest frequency of deviations from standard English occurring one song is Justin Timberlake’s 2006 song, SexyBack, which includes 103 instances, accounting for 16.5% of the
In the pursuit of such an assessment, I relied upon the Flesch-Kincaid readability test to provide calculations. The Flesch-Kincaid readability test analyzes a written manuscript and determines the grade reading level, as defined by the US government, of the piece by taking the total words divided by total sentences, and the total syllables divided by total words (“The Flesch Reading”). This system does not determine the eloquence of the document, nor does it calculate the persuasive success; it merely recognizes the reading level using a computer-generated index. This system was created in the 1940s and modified by the US Navy in the 1970s, and has since been widely used in the United States by university researchers, the US Department of Justice and several state governments to confirm documents reach a certain intellectual level, and was recently adopted by Microsoft Office 2013 as an addition to the spelling and grammar feature (Wright). These examples demonstrate that a large breadth of reputable and well-known entities use the Flesch-Kincaid
The average across all five decades is 6.79. In order to understand the significance of such values, it is pertinent to understand the average readability rates in other areas. The average American speaks at an eighth or ninth grade reading level (Drutman, 2012), while the average American politician is between 10.5 and 11.5 (SOURCE). Returning to the average readability by grade level of the music lyrics assessed, we can now understand further implications of what such a value indicates. The most popular music in the United States is of a lower average readability as measured by grade level than that which the average American speaks. This ensures a high rate of understanding on behalf of the average the listener, which may as result encourage the thought that a song is more relatable. Undeniably, by producing songs at a readability below that of the average American speaker, this ensures that a high rate of people will understand the lyrics and find greater ease in singing along to the