Contrastive analysis in language : identifying linguistic units of comparison : [papers of "Contrastive analysis and lingusitic theory" symposium, Ghent University, 21 and 22 september 2001

This is a book about comparison in linguistics in general, rather than "contrastive analysis" as a distinct branch of linguistics. It addresses the question "Does the analytical apparatus used by linguists allow comparisons to be made across languages?" Four major domains are considered in turn: derivational morphology, syntax, semantics & pragmatics, and discourse. Contributions cover a broad spectrum of linguistic disciplines, ranging from contrastive linguistics and linguistic typology to translation studies and historical linguistics. Comparison is central to most work in linguistics. But what do linguists compare when they compare languages? Do different levels of linguistic description require their own specific units of comparison? Does the aim and scope of the linguistic description bear any relevance to their choice - or can the same units be used in different linguistic subdisciplines? These are the key questions this book tries to answer. It is not a book about 'contrastive analysis' as a distinctive branch of linguistics, but about comparison in linguistics in general. It is about the analytical apparatus used by linguists and whether this allows comparisons to be made across languages. Among the central concepts treated are semantic primes, pragmatic functions, and basic word order. The ten chapters are grouped in four sections (derivational morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics, and discourse studies) and cover a broad spectrum of linguistic disciplines, ranging from contrastive linguistics and linguistic typology to translation studies and historical linguistics Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction....Pages 1-9 Front Matter....Pages 11-11 Semantic Primes within and across Languages....Pages 13-43 A Semantic Map for Imperative-Hortatives ....Pages 44-66 Front Matter....Pages 67-67 ‘Basic Word Order’ in Formal and Functional Linguistics and the Typological Status of ‘Canonical’ Sentence Types ....Pages 69-88 Division of Labour: the Role-semantic Function of Basic Order and Case....Pages 89-133 Front Matter....Pages 135-135 Action and Agent Nouns in French and Polysemy....Pages 137-154 Deverbal Nouns and the Agentive Dimension across Languages....Pages 155-171 Deverbal Nouns in Russian: in Search of a Dividing Line....Pages 172-193 Front Matter....Pages 195-195 Contrastive Analysis across Time: Issues in Historical Dialogue Analysis....Pages 197-212 Contrastive Textlinguistics and Translation Universals....Pages 213-229 Genre and Multimodality: Expanding the Context for Comparison across Languages....Pages 230-266 Back Matter....Pages 267-278 Addressing the question of whether the analytical apparatus used by linguists allows comparisons to be made across languages, this study is about comparison in linguistics in general, rather than "contrastive analysis" as a distinct branch of linguistics Edited By Dominique Willems ... [et Al.]. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes.