Functional domains and cross-linguistic comparability

This paper investigates a strategy other than the one currently implemented in the CorpAfroAs project, allowing cross-linguistic comparison among multiple-language corpora. It involves comparing a database of functional domains and subdomains across languages. The underlying principle is that cross-linguistic comparison should be conducted on the basis of meanings/functions actually encoded in the grammatical systems of individual languages rather than on the basis of aprioristic categories. Such a study yields reliable information regarding the differences and similarities between grammatical systems.