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for academic year 2025/2026
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Course: Contrastive Grammar

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Course title Contrastive Grammar
Course code KAA/KKOGA
Organizational form of instruction Lecture + Seminar
Level of course Master
Year of study not specified
Semester Summer
Number of ECTS credits 4
Language of instruction English
Status of course Compulsory
Form of instruction Face-to-face
Work placements This is not an internship
Recommended optional programme components None
Lecturer(s)
  • Nováková Eva, Mgr. PhD.
Course content
A brief survey of the development of contrastive linguistics. Comparative and contrastive linguistics. Language universals, universal language laws. Socio-cultural links between languages. Identification of similarities and differences between English and Czech. Comparison of forms and functions. Interference and negative transfer. Contrastive approach to stylistics. The use of corpora in contrastive linguistics. Comparison of spoken and written discourse features. The impact of contrastive analysis results on translation.

Learning activities and teaching methods
Dialogic (discussion, interview, brainstorming), Work with text (with textbook, with book), Methods of individual activities
  • Writing a seminar paper - 15 hours per semester
  • Contact teaching - 8 hours per semester
  • Individual project - 25 hours per semester
  • Home preparation for classes - 48 hours per semester
  • Independent critical reading - 25 hours per semester
Learning outcomes
The aim of the course is to provide students with in-depth knowledge about contrastive analysis and its role in theoretical and applied linguistics. It concentrates on cross-linguistic comparison of forms and functions, with an emphasis on Czech and English, to explore the differences and similarities between the two languages. Particularly, the analysis focuses on (a) the areas of ELT where Czech users of English make frequent errors, (b) formal/functional changes in translation (translation shifts) and quality of the target text.
Students will acquire knowledge and insight into contrastive analysis. They will be able to compare languages systematically, to notice potential areas of interference, to explain differences and similarities between English and Czech in the area of grammar and their influence on language acquisition. They will be able to apply the acquired knowledge in translation and in their further development.
Prerequisites
unspecified

Assessment methods and criteria
Written examination, Home assignment evaluation

active participation in online seminars translation tasks examination paper - contrastive analysis individual appointment with the teacher
Recommended literature
  • Aijmer, K., Altenberg, B., and M. Johansson. Languages in Contrast. Papers from a Symposium on Text-based Cross-linguistic Studies in Lund. Lund University Press, 1996.
  • Baker, Mona. In Other Words, A Coursebook on Translation. London: Routledge, 2002.
  • Biber, Douglas, Stig Johansson, Geoffrey Leech, Susan Conrad, and Edward Finegan. Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2021. ISBN 9789027250605.
  • Butler, C. S., Gómez-González, M., Doval-Suárez, S. M. (ed.). The Dynamics of Language Use. Functional and Contrastive Perspectives. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2003.
  • Dušková, Libuše a kol. Elektronická mluvnice současné angličtiny. Praha. 2012.
  • Fisiak, J. Further Insights into Contrastive Analysis. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 1990.
  • Granger, S., Lerot, J. and S. Petch-Tyson. Corpus-based Approaches to Contrastive Linguistics and Translation Studies. Amsterdam/New York: Rodopi, 2003.
  • Halliday, M.A. K. Spoken and Written Language. Oxford University Press, 1989.
  • Chesterman, Andrew. Contrastive Functional Analysis. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2011. ISBN 9789027250605.
  • Karlík, P., Nekula, M. a J. Pleskalová. Encyklopedický slovník češtiny. Praha: Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, 2002.
  • Knittlová, D. a kol. Překlad a překládádní. Olomouc: Univerzita Palackého, 2010.
  • Krzeszowski, T. P. Contrasting Languages: The Scope of Contrastive Linguistics. Berlin: Mouton De Gruyter, 1990.
  • Malmkjaer, K., and K. Windle (Eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Translation Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.
  • Mathesius, V. A Functional Analysis of Present Day English on a General Linguistic Basis. Praha: Academia, 1975.
  • Nickel, G. Papers in Contrastive Linguistics. Cambridge University Press, 1971.
  • SGALL, P. Language in Its Multifarious Aspects. Praha: Karolinum, 2006.
  • Tárnyiková, J. Sentence Complexes in Text. Processing Strategies in English and Czech. Olomouc: Univerzita Palackého, 2007.
  • Unger, J.W, Krzyzanowski, M, and R. Wodak (Eds.). Multilingual Encounters in Europe's Insitutional Spaces. London: Bloomsbury, 2014.
  • Vachek, J. A Functional Syntax of Modern English. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 1994.
  • VACHEK, J. Selected Writings in English and general linguistics. Praha: Akademia, 1986.
  • Vilikovský, J. Překlad jako tvorba. Praha, 2002.
  • Wierzbicka, A. Cross-cultural Pragmatics: The Semantics of Human Interaction. Berlin: Mouton De Gruyter, 2003.


Study plans that include the course
Faculty Study plan (Version) Category of Branch/Specialization Recommended year of study Recommended semester
University of Pardubice, date of update: 15.03.2026 23:50. Data created for academic year 2025/2026