This paper critically examines the exclusive use of the relative frequency of subordinate clauses as a measure of syntactic complexity in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) L2 acquisition and as an indicator of Second Language (L2) development. Following Lambert & Kormos (2014), it is argued that it is important to also take into account: (i) different subordinate clause types, (ii) item-based frequencies, and (iii) text genre. Longitudinal written data was collected among 21 Dutch-speaking foreign language learners of Swedish. Based on these data, the study shows that the subordination ratio (a common measure for syntactic complexity) alone was found to be insufficient as an indicator of syntactic complexity and L2 development, as hardly any significant differences were observed in the subordination ratios of the learners and native speakers. The study shows that other aspects are also relevant in determining the learners’ level of syntactic complexity as well as their L2 development, such as the internal structure and context of subordinate clauses, subordinate clause types, and especially the type-token ratio of subordinators used. The results showed a significant negative correlation between the subordination ratio of texts and the type-token ratio of subordinators. The aim of the study is to acknowledge the variation in the learners’ use of subordinate clause, in addition to the general subordination ratio, in order to arrive at a more nuanced view of syntactic complexity in second language acquisition.

中文翻译：

---

变体在 L2 句法复杂性中的作用：以瑞典语作为外语从属从句为例

本文批判性地研究了从句的相对频率作为衡量第二语言习得 (SLA) L2 习得句法复杂性和作为第二语言 (L2) 发展指标的唯一用途。继 Lambert & Kormos (2014) 之后，有人认为还必须考虑以下因素：（i）不同的从句类型，（ii）基于项目的频率，以及（iii）文本类型。在 21 名讲荷兰语的瑞典语外语学习者中收集了纵向书面数据。基于这些数据，研究表明，仅从属比率（句法复杂性的常用衡量标准）不足以作为句法复杂性和 L2 发展的指标，因为在学习者的从属比率几乎没有观察到任何显着差异和母语人士。研究表明，其他方面也与决定学习者的句法复杂程度以及他们的二语发展有关，例如从句的内部结构和上下文、从句类型，尤其是所用从属词的类型标记比。 . 结果表明，文本的从属比例与从属者的type-token比例呈显着负相关。该研究的目的是承认学习者使用从属从句的变化，以及一般的从属比例，以便对第二语言习得中的句法复杂性有一个更细致的看法。例如从句的内部结构和上下文，从句类型，特别是使用的从属词的类型标记比率。结果表明，文本的从属比例与从属者的type-token比例呈显着负相关。该研究的目的是承认学习者使用从属从句的变化，以及一般的从属比例，以便对第二语言习得中的句法复杂性有一个更细致的看法。例如从句的内部结构和上下文，从句类型，特别是使用的从属词的类型标记比率。结果表明，文本的从属比例与从属者的type-token比例呈显着负相关。该研究的目的是承认学习者使用从属从句的变化，以及一般的从属比例，以便对第二语言习得中的句法复杂性有一个更细致的看法。