There has been a considerable suggestion in the literature that syntactic adaptation of a text would simplify it. This empirical study determined that the complexity of the syntax does not significantly affect the level of reading comprehension. While a complete conceptual and lexical analysis may be necessary for reading comprehension, a thorough syntactic analysis is not. This should be true for both expert and novice readers in a particular professional field, herein computer science.Using American (L1 or E l , English as a native language) and Dutch (L2 or E2, English as a second, nonnative language) computer science and humanities majors reading in EST (English for Science and Technology), it was found that there were no significant differences between subgroups reading an authentic (in original, unadapted form) computer science text and those reading a syntactically adapted text either in comprehension or in time across the four groups of subjects. These results indicate that syntactic simplification of an EST text is not a real simplification. Hence, technical writers and EST teachers might give priority to other more conceptual ways of rewriting texts.
RESUMELes effets de simplification syntaxique sur la lecture de texte EST ( I ) en langue maternelle et en langue secondeQuoique la litttrature sugghe fortement que l'adaptation syntaxique d'un texte le simplifierait, l'ttude empirique prtsentte ici indique que la complexitt de la syntaxe n'affecte pas de manibe significative le niveau de comprehension de lecture d'un texte scientifique. On a analyst l'effet sur la comprthension de la lecture de 1) la On a pris soin de ne pas changer le sens des phrases. Aucun item lexical ou autre item des phrases d'origine n'a Ctk changk; par consequent on a maintenu la mCme charge de contenu. Les rksultats de la recherche ont montrt que le registre de langue du texte n'a eu aucun effet significatif sur les scores de comprkhension de lecture, mais que la connaissance du contexte et la connaissance du langage ont eu un effect (p <0.01; p <0.005). Partant de 18, on peut conclure qu'il n'y a pas de difftrence significative dans la comprkhension d'un texte authentique par rapport 8 celle d'un texte rtkrit (simplifit), mais que la connaissance de l'informatique aide les sujets A comprendre significativement mieux.Dans cette recherche, les sujets ont enregistrt eux-mCmes leurs temps de lecture et quoique ces temps ne soient peut-Ctre pas statistiquement fiables, ils apportent toutefois une information superficielle. I1 y a un effet tres important de la connaissance de la langue sur les temps de lecture (p<0.005). Ce facteur intervient dans trois interactions hautement significatives: 1) avec la connaissance du contexte (p
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