Readability and language complexity in old and new law study guides: A corpus-based account of a stylistic shift

Abstract

This article explores linguistic reflexes of a move in South African university distance education towards more learner-orientated study material. In what ways might such material be said to be more accessible? Two aspects of accessibility, namely readability and complexity features, are focused on and these are compared by way of corpus analyses of an earlier, more content-orientated study guide introducing the theory of law and a later, more learner-orientated guide. The findings provide an account of some key linguistic characteristics that appear to underpin the enhanced accessibility of the latter guide.