In the Belly of Text Complexity: Unravelling the Nexus between Lexical Density and Readability

Abstract

This study set out to explore the link between lexical density (LD) as a tool for determining text complexity and the general readability of texts (in this study, texts assigned to Senior High School learners in Ghana). To clearly establish this link, the levels of LD of assigned texts have to be first determined, and then, compared with their corresponding readability values. To that end, Ure’s (1971) LD formula and Halliday’s (1985b) LD formula have been used to determine the LD values of the sampled texts. Gunning’s (1952) and Flesch’s (1948) readability indices have been used to determine the readability values of same assigned texts. LD values for the sampled texts were found to be generally very high (above the widely agreed minimum of 40%); as their corresponding readability values were low. The correlation between LD and readability is therefore adequately revealed: high LD translates directly into low readability while low LD translates directly into high readability. Implicatively, low readability of texts definitely affects learner progress negatively. Keywords: lexical density, readability, Senior High School learners in Ghana, Ure’s (1971) LD formula, Halliday’s (1985) LD formula, Gunning’s (1952) readability index, Flesch’s (1948) readability index