RUA-L  (2022): "New approaches in Contrastive Linguistics"

Contrastive linguistics received its name in the 1940’s, although its genesis can be associated to the nineteenth-century comparative studies. These years represent a milestone in the beginning and acceptance of Contrastive Linguistics (CL) as a useful empirical analysis method for language teaching linked to structuralist linguistic theories. Thus, this first formulation focused on the presentation of detailed descriptions of a specific grammatical aspect in two different languages, based on grammatical reference works, in order to compare them and draw the appropriate conclusions.

The works of Fries [1945] Teaching and Learning English as a Foreign Language and Lado [1957] Linguistics across Cultures are considered the fundamental pillars of Contrastive Linguistics, also known as Contrastive Analysis (AC) due to its didactic affiliation. This first theoretical conception defended as core elements of his analysis; the prediction of errors resulting from linguistic contrast, the study of language transfer and the suppression of language interference.

This first conception (strong hypothesis) was progressively abandoned due to its lack of scientific reliability and has been replaced by other hypotheses (unfairly called “weak” by inadequate translation) that avoid scientific apriorism regarding error and study language transfer without pre-established linguistic judgements about positive and negative transfer.

In accordance with this exegetical reformulation of Contrastive Linguistics, one can state two general conceptions of Contrastive Linguistics: Theoretical Contrastive Linguistics, which is linked to the assumptions of Comparative Linguistics, as it seeks to look for the realisation of a certain universal category in one or several languages, and Applied Contrastive Linguistics, which shares with the theoretical, the search for the expression of certain universal categories in different languages, but adds the search to identify areas of interlinguistic difficulty to be applied to different linguistic disciplines such as foreign language teaching or translation, or to various linguistic sub-disciplines such as discourse analysis, corpus linguistics, pragmatics, pragmalinguistics, semantics, syntax, sociolinguistics, morphology, phonetics and phonology, etc..

In the last years of the last century and in the first years of the present century, we have witnessed a renaissance of Contrastive Linguistics studies, expanding its field of study and, thus, extending its classical scope of action: foreign language teaching, mainly at the phonetic/phonological and morphosyntactic levels.

The Direction and Editorial Board of the RUA-L journal, aware of the strength acquired by current studies of Contrastive Linguistics, solidly based not only on grammatical and linguistic reference works, but also on empirical field studies, perceived as a useful tool for interlinguistic analysis that can be applied to foreign or second language teaching, or to other disciplines such as translation, and at different linguistic levels, opens the deadline for submission of original scientific papers for the issue dedicated to Contrastive Linguistics to be published in 2022. Preference will be given to proposals that:

• Fall within the fields of syntax, pragmatics (pragmalinguistics), discourse analysis, semantics and sociolinguistics. Nonetheless, other proposals related to additional linguistic areas may be considered if the coordinator of the thematic volume deems it appropriate.
• Have a synchronous approach;
• Carry out a binary or ternary (inter)linguistic study;
• Employ one, as a minimum exclusion factor, or several of the following contrast languages: Portuguese, Spanish, French, English or German.

All manuscripts are subjected to a prior double-blind evaluation process by members of a Scientific/Arbitration Committee, made up of researchers and professors from the University of Aveiro and from other Portuguese and international higher education institutions and research centres. RUA-L publishes an annual volume, in paper and in open access electronic mode, at no cost to authors and readers.

Manuscripts may be submitted in the following languages: Portuguese, English, German, Spanish and French. (See Acceptance/Publication Rules)

RUA-L. Journal of the University of Aveiro -Languages is associated with the Department of Languages and Cultures (DLC) and with UA Publishers.

Publisher: UA Editora.

ISSN: 0870-1547 | E-ISSN: 2183-4695.

RUA-L adopts the Creative Commons BY 4.0 licence

RUA-L  is indexed in RCAAP and in  OpenAIRE  and is in the process of indexing  in the following databases: DOAJ, ERIHPLUS, Latindex, SCOPUS, SHERPA/RoMEO e Web of Science.

Thematic areas: Contrastive Linguistics, Discourse Analysis, Corpus Linguistics, Pragmatics, Psycholinguistics, Sociolinguistics, Foreign Language Teaching, Translation, Semantics, Syntax, Morphology, Phonetics and Phonology.

Deadline for submission of papers: June 30, 2022

Notification of accepted contributions: September 30, 2022

Coordinator: Francisco José Fidalgo Enríquez

Submit papers to : fjfe@ua.pt

Acceptance/Publication Rules