1THE GRAECO-LATIN (G-L) INSTRUMENT: A NEW MEASURE OF SEMANTIC COMPLEXITY IN ORAL AND WRITTEN ENGLISH

This article introduces a new and much-needed measure of levels of semantic complexity in oral and written English language texts. Reference is made to the research programme within which this Graeco-Latin (G—L) Instrument was developed. Evidence is extracted from that research to validate the claim that the instrument does measure levels of lexical abstraction and overall levels of textual semantic complexity in English. Some limitations and cautions are offered. The operational rules for employing the instrument are detailed. A recent paper by Levin, Long and Schaffer (1981) discusses the place of the Latinate lexicon in English and suggests that subjects perceive a level of high formality in uncommon Latinate words. For Levin et al. a principal assumed value of Latinate words resides in their conveying a high socio-cultural status to utterances; they are used in an &dquo;affected&dquo; way. While not disagreeing with the judgment that this &dquo;affected&dquo; use of words of Latin (and Greek) origin is an important motive in their over-use in certain contexts, I believe that Levin et al. overlook the very real contribution the Latinate words make towards the language user’s ability to express a high level of meaning complexity in his oral and witten English. This contribution to the semantic of the language is due in par