I took some time to think about this because it started off as a feeling and not a list of reasons.<p>For me it&#x27;s mostly centered around control structures - if, for, switch, case (scala&#x27;s pattern matching). Clojure&#x27;s control structures are syntactically composed of ()&#x27;s and []&#x27;s. Scala&#x27;s aren&#x27;t. They are a coded into the language&#x27;s grammar[1][2]. Clojure&#x27;s ns forms parallel Scala&#x27;s package and import statements, but are again Clojure&#x27;s are syntactically composed of ()&#x27;s and []&#x27;s. I know it&#x27;s a relatively small point, but control structures make up a significant portion of programs.<p>As a side note, I took a look at a Clojure grammar also specified for antlr[3]. My initial thought would be that Clojure&#x27;s grammar would be appreciably smaller. It is, but not by as much as I was expecting. There are a lot of very little additions to the reader that add up [4][5][6].<p>[1] - Scala&#x27;s syntax <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.scala-lang.org&#x2F;files&#x2F;archive&#x2F;spec&#x2F;2.11&#x2F;13-syntax-summary.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.scala-lang.org&#x2F;files&#x2F;archive&#x2F;spec&#x2F;2.11&#x2F;13-syntax-...</a><p>[2] - Examples <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;lrlucena&#x2F;grammars-v4&#x2F;blob&#x2F;master&#x2F;scala&#x2F;scala.g4#L96" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;lrlucena&#x2F;grammars-v4&#x2F;blob&#x2F;master&#x2F;scala&#x2F;sc...</a><p>[3] - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;laurentpetit&#x2F;ccw&#x2F;blob&#x2F;3738a4fd768bcb0399630b7f6a6427a3066bdaa9&#x2F;clojure-antlr-grammar&#x2F;src&#x2F;Clojure.g" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;laurentpetit&#x2F;ccw&#x2F;blob&#x2F;3738a4fd768bcb03996...</a><p>[4] - <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;clojure.org&#x2F;reference&#x2F;reader#macrochars" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;clojure.org&#x2F;reference&#x2F;reader#macrochars</a><p>[5] - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;yobriefca.se&#x2F;blog&#x2F;2014&#x2F;05&#x2F;19&#x2F;the-weird-and-wonderful-characters-of-clojure&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;yobriefca.se&#x2F;blog&#x2F;2014&#x2F;05&#x2F;19&#x2F;the-weird-and-wonderful...</a><p>[6] - See &quot;Special Characters&quot; <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;clojure.org&#x2F;api&#x2F;cheatsheet" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;clojure.org&#x2F;api&#x2F;cheatsheet</a>