37.1032, FYI: Call for Chapters: Complexity in Language: A Functional Approach to Linguistic Complexity and Variation in Language Use

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-37-1032. Fri Mar 13 2026. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 37.1032, FYI: Call for Chapters: Complexity in Language: A Functional Approach to Linguistic Complexity and Variation in Language Use

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Date: 12-Mar-2026
From: Linguistic Complexity [linguisticcomplexity at gmail.com]
Subject: Call for Chapters: Complexity in Language: A Functional Approach to Linguistic Complexity and Variation in Language Use


Scope and goals of the volume:
Drawing on corpus-based research, the book investigates how clause ,
embedding,  and phrase-level subordination contribute to complex
meaning-making. It demonstrates how syntactic choices are determined
by   transitivity, agency, thematic progression, and the need to
package information in discourse. In addition, the book investigates
variation in complexity across spoken and written registers and
academic genres, revealing how functional factors drive syntactic
change and diversity.
Enriched by insights from systemic functional linguistics, corpus
linguistics, and discourse analysis, the book looks at the interaction
between complexity, transitivity, and event representation across a
variety of contexts.  Through investigating  spoken and written
discourse, and academic texts, the book demonstrates how complexity
changes according to genre and register.
By combining theory with empirical research, this volume points out
how complexity in language appears not as an abstract property but as
a strategic resource for representing events and organizing discourse.
The editor welcomes abstracts on the topics of interest below and/or
topics that closely align with the scope of this volume:
Section One: Linguistic Variation in Use
- Register Variation in Spoken vs. Written Genres
- Sociolinguistic Aspects that Shape Syntactic Complexity
- Diachronic changes in Linguistic Complexity
Section Two: Applications and Barriers of Linguistic Complexity
- Linguistic Complexity in Language Pathology and Impairment
- Towards a  Theory of Syntactic Variation and Complexity
Section Three: Measuring Linguistic Complexity
- Metrics of Syntactic Complexity
- Measures of Lexical Complexity
- Quantitative Tools for Tracking Development in Linguistic Complexity
Section Four: Transitivity and Event Representation
- Processes, participants, agency and transitivity in functional
grammar.
Abstract Submission (Approximately 150-200 words): June 30, 2026
Acceptance Notification (Abstract): July 30, 2026
Please send your abstracts to linguisticcomplexity at gmail.com

Linguistic Field(s): Applied Linguistics
                     Computational Linguistics
                     Discourse Analysis
                     Linguistic Theories
                     Text/Corpus Linguistics

Subject Language(s): English (eng)




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