# Language Structure Index | Harmate

Discover how Harmate turns linguistic metrics into a transparent internal index and published language-specific benchmarks.

- Canonical URL: https://www.harmate.com/en/product/language-score
- Language: en
- Updated: Sat, 15 Aug 2026 02:50:42 GMT

## Content

#### Language analysis that is readable, actionable, and traceable.

The language structure index combines readability, sentence structure, lexical richness, punctuation, and register signals without claiming to certify respondents' proficiency.
- Product

By respondent, group, question, or cohort

Combinable filters

Transparent methodology
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Stylized globe illustration representing linguistic analysis across cohorts.
- Internal index
- 72/100
- Published benchmark
- Open responses
- Subscores
- 5
- Lexicon
- Syntax
- Register
- Punct.
- Strength
- Lexical richness
- Watchpoint
- Unstable register
- Use
- Compare cohorts
- Internal index
- 0 to 100
- Published benchmarks
- French & English
- Visible components
- 5 families

#### Try on Your Text

Type an excerpt to instantly preview the internal index and its main linguistic components.

#### Live Components

#### Detailed Indicators

#### Scoring Methodology

The engine aggregates responses for the selected scope (question, respondent, group, cohort) using the same filters as your other analyses.
- 1. Scope aggregation

We extract simple indicators: average sentence length, lexical density, vocabulary variety, punctuation, abbreviations, and out-of-language words.
- 2. Metric extraction

Each indicator family is normalized onto a shared scale to prevent one raw metric from artificially dominating the score.
- 3. Component normalization

The final index combines weighted components. Corpus benchmarks are shown separately to avoid confusing an internal measure with certified proficiency.
- 4. Composite score and reading

#### Tracked Components

#### Readability

Estimates reading ease with formulas based on sentence and word length.

#### Syntactic Structure

Measures sentence complexity through construction variety and structural depth.

#### Lexical Richness

Observes word diversity and lexical variety stability across texts of different lengths.

#### Punctuation

Analyzes punctuation density and diversity as an indicator of discourse structuring.

#### Register Signals

Detects register signals: abbreviations, code-mixing, and informal markers.

#### Response Volume

Integrates useful response length to avoid fragile conclusions from very short verbatims.

#### How to interpret this score

#### Compare Before Evaluating

The score is especially useful comparatively: between cohorts, between groups, or before/after an intervention.

#### Read Subscores

The same global score can come from different linguistic profiles. Components explain what actually changes.

#### Use Domain Context

Expected level depends on context (training, recruiting, internal diagnosis). The score is not an end in itself.

#### Avoid Automated Selection Use

We recommend using it as a reading and facilitation aid, never as a single criterion for individual decisions.

#### Methodology Sources

The index uses documented metrics and research on real open-ended responses. Sources that are not comparable with Harmate questionnaires are not used as thresholds.

#### Covington & McFall - MATTR Lexical Diversity

#### CEVIPOF/BVA - Open-Survey Verbatims

#### Jaeger & Rasmussen - Open-Ended Consumer Responses

#### Short and Sweet? - Open Responses by Survey Mode

#### French Grand Débat National - 78 Open Questions

#### GLUECoS (ACL 2020) - Code-Switching

#### Related Pages

Understand how verbatim collection feeds the language score.
- Open questions

Visualize linguistic indicators alongside your other analysis metrics.
- Dashboards

Analyze real participant responses with the same reading framework.
- Real Mode

Test questionnaires and compare simulated language indicators.
- Simulation Mode

#### Measure the Linguistic Quality of Your Open Responses

Enable the language score in your Harmate analyses and compare populations with explicit components.
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