Contrastive Analysis in Language

This is a study 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 and pragmatics, and discourse - and contributions cover a broad spectrum of linguistic disciplines, ranging from contrastive linguistics and linguistic typology to translation studies and historical linguistics.