Syntactic complexity in academic writing: A comparative analysis of L1 Turkish and L1 English writers

This study explores syntactic complexity features in applied linguistics research articles authored by L1 Turkish and L1 English writers. Using a corpus-based approach, the study incorporates both large-grained and fine-grained measures to compare clausal and phrasal complexity. The analyses are based on two self-compiled corpora, each consisting of 50 internationally published research articles. One corpus represents writers who are native speakers of English, while the other represents writers who share Turkish as a common L1 and have published research articles in English. The corpora comprise a total of 100 articles (718,105 words) drawn from ten high ranking journals in the field of applied linguistics. The findings of comparative analyses indicate that L1 English writers tend to use longer sentences, higher levels of subordination, and more adjective complements, reflecting a preference for layered syntactic structures. In contrast, L1 Turkish writers rely more on intra-clausal elaboration, including frequent use of coordinate phrases and adjectival modifiers, particularly in noun phrases. While both groups demonstrate genre-specific features of academic writing, the study highlights distinct stylistic preferences and complexities in their syntactic choices. The results contribute to a nuanced understanding of how linguistic background influences academic writing and offer practical implications for English for Academic Purposes (EAP) instruction, particularly for L1 Turkish writers aiming to publish in international academic journals.