6 Syntactic Complexity
Syntactic complexity is a key construct in linguistics that refers to the degree of elaboration and complexity in the structure of sentences. It encompasses various aspects of sentence construction, including the length of sentences, the diversity and variety of syntactic forms used, the depth of embedding (i.e., how many layers of subordinate clauses are present), and the use of coordination and subordination (Hunt 1970; Ortega 2003). Syntactic complexity is particularly important in the study of language development and proficiency, as it serves as a marker of an individual’s linguistic capability (Kyle and Crossley 2017; Lu 2010). The more syntactically complex a sentence is, the more advanced the language use is ...
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