Introduction -- Approaches to cross-linguistic studies in functional and cognitive/constructional theories of language -- The impact of the base: Evidence from word-based vs. stem-based compounds -- A contrastive analysis of placement verbs in German and Dutch -- From the reflexive to the middle construction: What is ‘in-between’? A comparison between English and Italian.

This book approaches the field of contrastive linguistics from a comparative and robust perspective that combines the tenets of construction grammar and cognitive linguistics. In doing so, it shows how their integration can help to successfully enhance research on contrastivity, by means of updated theoretical frameworks and applied methodologies that combine language and thought. It compares ten different languages and offers analyses of constructions at all levels of the linguistic organization, identifying the cognitive motivations that instantiate the linguistic data retrieved from corpora. Relevant to both cognitive and non-cognitive linguists interested in variation and contrastive approaches, as well as graduate students in these areas, this book makes a significant contribution to existing work on the various types of constructional and discourse-based phenomena in modern languages.