8. Contrastive linguistics as a science and an academic
discipline: its subject matter and tasks
Contrastive linguistics (CL) (other terms confrontative and comparative linguistics) as a language discipline was formed on the basis of typology studies in the middle of the XX-th century and has been intensively developing since 50-ies of the XX-th century. The aim of CL is the comparative study of two, less often more than two languages, in order to find out their similarities and differences on all levels of the language structure. The early sources of CL can be regarded as investigation of differences in grammars, published in different countries (especially actively in countries of Western Europe) and the works on the typological comparison of non-related languages, carried out in connection with tasks of the typological classification of languages. As a rule, CL deals with materials on the synchronic level of the language. From the point of view of quantity, investigations concerning different levels of language are distributed not equally: the biggest part of research works is devoted to the contrastive grammar (including word formation), the less number is devoted to the contrastive phonology, and still smaller number - to works in contrasting lexical systems.
Singling out of CL from the large sphere of comparative studies of different languages was caused by holding of special conferences, devoted to contrastive studies (the first one took place in Georgetown, the USA, in 1968), as well as including the CL problem issues into the program of international linguistic congresses since the year 1972. The birth of CL is believed to be connected with appearance of the work "Linguistics across cultures" by Robert Lado in 1957 (Ладо Р. Лшгвютика поверх кордошв культур). But it should be mentioned that works by Ukrainian and Russian scholars (the end of the XLX-th - the beg. of XX-th centuries) abounded in rich materials of contrastive language studies, though being closer to typological studies: works by O.O.Potebnja, Boduen de Courtene, L.Shcherba and others.
CL research of the second half of the XX-th century, especially contrastive grammar research, was enriched by works of the
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outstanding Ukrainian scholar Yurij Oleksijovych Zhluktenko (1915-1990). Yu.O.Zhluktenko is the author of a series of contrastive works of English, German, Ukrainian languages. His work "A Comparative Grammar of English and Ukrainian" (published in 1960) [5] is to be mentioned in this regard. A lot of interesting and original ideas within the field of contrastive linguistics is presented in his generally theoretical articles "Contrastive analysis as a method of language research" [3], "Some issues of the contrastive analysis of languages" [4], "Contrastive linguistics: problems and perspectives (with the coauthor V.N. Bublyk) [6]. Under his editorship there were published such collective research works as: "Notes on contrastive linguistics" [3], "Contrastive studies on the grammar of English, Ukrainian, and Russian languages" [14]. Yu.O.Zhluktenko can rightly be considered as the initiator of contrastive linguistics development.
Recent period in contrastive studies is marked by such an important work concerning contrastive and typological language research as the "Contrastive typology of the English and Ukrainian languages" by the prominent Ukrainian linguist Ilko Vakulovych Korunets' (published in 2003) [10]. Since a lot of works in contrastive linguistics are tending to be of typological character, it is obvious that the place of CL among other linguistic disciplines still should be specified. This statement can be found in the work of another outstanding Ukrainian scholar Mykhajlo Petrovych Kocherhan "Fundamentals of contrastive linguistics" ("Основи зютавного мовознавства") published in 2006 [11]. His textbook is devoted to such issues of contrastive linguistics as: general issues of contrastive linguistics; contrastive phonetics and phonology; contrastive derivatology and grammar; contrastive lexicology and phraseology. In the textbook M.P. Kocherhan presents his understanding of contrastive linguistics as a discipline on the modern stage of linguistic theory development, namely:
Contrastive linguistics (confrontative linguistics) - is a branch of linguistics which studies two or more languages irrespective of their kinship with the aim to reveal their similarities and differences on all levels of the language structure (phonological, morphological, syntactic, lexical-semantic).
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For
the sake of precisenesЈ we
consider
it necessary to present this definition in Ukrainian:
Зктавне моеознавствР (контрастивна лтгвктика, конфронтативна лтгвктикР) ~ р°зды мовознавства, який вивчае dei чи быыие мое незсР1ежно в^ i'xHboi споргдненостг з метою выявления Ъснюс поЫбноРте^ * ыдмтностей на ecix ргвнях мовноХ структуры (фонологлчномУ' морфологгчному, синтаксич-ному, лексико-семантичному) [^9].
According to M.P. Koc^ernan> tne object of contrastive linguistics are any two or то^е languages irrespective of their genealogical and typological nature- Nevertheless, the bigger differences in the structure (type) of languages are, the more vivid the contrast is, revealing of which is me main task of contrastive linguistics. Although for the linguistic science to reveal the hidden peculiarities of close by their oriЈin md structure languages is of no less importance since their specif"10 features can be noticed in the majority of cases only under cojidluon of their contrastive analysis [11; 12]. As far as the number of languages to be contrasted, the majority of linguists are oriented towards two languages. Though recently there have been appearing a lot of works devoted to the study of three and even bigger number of languages.
Contrastive research is 1аг^е1У connected with the synchronic aspect of the language that is ditferent languages are contrasted at a certain time period without reg^rding tne former stages of their development. Some scholars e^en believe that the contrastive linguistics is uniquely a synchronous one- Nevertheless languages are, and sometimes should be, contrasted in diachrony. The synchronic approach is more suitable for the Stage of the language data analysis. On the synthesis stage it, as a rulO> is accompanied by the diachronic approach.
What concerns the subjectmatter md *be tasks of CL there exist two different points of view - &от bating this discipline as a "purely" linguistic theory, closely connected with typology (K. James) [1], to the narrow practical application of contrastive works, meant to serve the needs of foreign language study (G. Nickel) [13].
Contrastive linguistics as a merely auxiliary discipline, serving for the needs of the methodology of language teaching, is considered by foreign linguistics (W. Nemser) [12]. As a second rate or auxiliary one contrastive linguistics is treated also by those scholars, who consider the aim of CL to be revealing cross-cultural similarities and differences, which further can become the basis for the typological generalizations. Such an approach limits the tasks and diminishes the status of contrastive linguistics, attaching to it a merely practical character. According to this approach CL deals largely with cataloging of cross-language similarities and differences. It is true, that CL focuses on language similarities and differences, nevertheless revealing and studying them is not the ultimate goal but the way to the deeper comprehension of language laws, including language universals. In this respect M.P. Kocherhan agrees with the foreign researcher K. James, who claims that contrastive linguistics includes features of both the "purely" theoretical and practical or applied linguistics [11; 13].
The synchronic-comparative method or contrastive / confron-tative method (according to M.P. Kocherhan these terms are considered as synonyms in Ukrainian linguistic terminology: синхронно-пор1вняльний метод, контрастивниЙ анал1з, або кон-фронтативний, з1ставний, зютавно-типолопчний анал1з тощо) gives the possibility to single out the contrastive linguistics as a separate linguistic branch. Of course, the results of such an analysis can have different ways of application, including the merely practical one. In this respect G. Nickel differentiates between the theoretical and the practical contrastive linguistics [11; 13].
According to the Ukrainian linguist M.P. Kocherhan, contrastive linguistics really aims at solving both theoretical and practical tasks.
The theoretical tasks of contrastive linguistics include the following:
to reveal similarities and differences in languages, the coincidence and difference by usage of language means of expression;
to research the characteristic for contrasted languages tendencies;
- to define the cross-language correspondences and lacunas;
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to find out the reason for similarities and differences;
to verify the deductive universale on the material of contrasted languages.
The practical (linguo-didactic) tasks of contrastive linguistics are the following:
- to define the methodological relevance of similarities and differences between the contrasted languages;
to establish the character of the cross-language interference;
to reveal the difficulties in the study of a foreign language;
to outline the frames of the application of comparison as a way to teach a foreign language;
to work out the procedure of the cross-language contrasting as a means to teach a foreign language.
According to the enumerated tasks there can be singled out two directions - the contrastive study of a language with the theoretical aim and the contrastive study of a language with the linguo-didactic aim. Therefore, on one hand, the contrastive research is aimed at the theoretical branch of the characterological typology, on the other - at the practical needs of translation and foreign language teaching [11; 14].
The topical tasks of contrastive linguistics include as well the research of the most general laws of divergence, revealed by the contrastive analysis. The contrastive analysis can be considered as a complete one only in the case, when language units have been analyzed in texts and different speech genres. Previously the contrastive analysis was focused on the data of the language system, that is on contrasting of separate lexemes or their groups, morphological categories and syntactic constructions, etc.; recently the sphere of contrastive analysis includes speech as well [11; 15].