Measuring language complexity: Challenges and opportunities

Abstract

This special issue focuses on measuring language complexity. The contributions address methodological challenges, discuss implications for theoretical research, and use complexity measurements for testing theoretical claims. In this introductory article, we explain what knowledge can be gained from quantifying complexity. We then describe a workshop and a shared task which were our attempt to develop a systematic approach to the challenge of finding appropriate and valid measures, and which inspired this special issue. We summarize the contributions focusing on the findings which can be related to the most prominent debates in linguistic complexity research.