However, we can identify areas within contrastive linguistics that are frequently investigated. These can be grouped by:
1. Focus of Comparison:
* Phonetics and Phonology: Comparing sound systems and pronunciation patterns.
* Morphology: Comparing word formation and structure.
* Syntax: Comparing sentence structure and grammatical rules.
* Semantics: Comparing meaning and lexical relations.
* Pragmatics: Comparing how language is used in different contexts.
* Discourse Analysis: Comparing how language is used in extended texts and interactions.
* Lexicography: Comparing vocabulary and dictionaries.
* Sociolinguistics: Comparing language use in different social contexts.
* Psycholinguistics: Comparing language processing and acquisition.
2. Purpose of Comparison:
* Language Teaching: Identifying areas of difficulty for learners of a second language.
* Translation and Interpreting: Understanding how language differences affect communication.
* Linguistic Typology: Classifying languages based on shared features.
* Language Evolution: Examining how languages change over time.
* Historical Linguistics: Comparing languages with a common ancestor.
* Language Contact: Studying the effects of language interaction.
* Cognitive Science: Investigating how language reflects human cognition.
3. Types of Languages Compared:
* Within-Language Comparison: Comparing dialects or registers within the same language.
* Between-Language Comparison: Comparing two or more different languages.
* Cross-Linguistic Comparison: Comparing a wide range of languages from different families.
4. Theoretical Frameworks:
* Generative Linguistics: Comparing underlying grammatical structures.
* Functional Linguistics: Comparing how language is used to serve communicative functions.
* Cognitive Linguistics: Comparing how language reflects mental processes.
It's important to note that these categories overlap and interact with each other. For instance, a study comparing the syntax of English and French could be considered a branch of contrastive linguistics focused on syntax, with a purpose of language teaching, using a generative linguistics framework.
Ultimately, the branches of contrastive linguistics are defined by the specific research questions and methodologies employed, rather than by strict, predefined categories.