RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Myhill, John A1 Xing, Janet Zhiqun YR 1996 T1 Towards an Operational Definition of Discourse Contrast JF Studies in Language. International Journal sponsored by the Foundation “Foundations of Language” VO 20 IS 2 SP 303 OP 360 DO https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.20.2.04myh PB John Benjamins SN 0378-4177, AB Linguists have often invoked the concept of contrast in attempting to explain the use of certain constructions without explicitly defining this term. The present paper proposes an operational definition of contrast which can be applied to naturally occurring data so as to provide a more precise account of the relationship between form and function. The specific problem addressed is word order in Biblical Hebrew and Chinese. It is shown that contrast is one factor affecting deviations from canonical word order in these languages, but that the effect of contrast differs in a number of respects in the two languages, and many deviations from canonical word order cannot be accounted for by reference to contrast., UL https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/sl.20.2.04myh