Ii. Basic concepts of contrastive linguistics

«From form to meaning» and «from meaning to form» approach
Formal typology deals with the units of expression plan of the language which
belongs to various levels of language hierarchy.
The ultimate goal of Formal typology is identifying formal universals. The major tasks of Formal typology embrace but are not limited to the following:

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  reveal external or formal features of the language;
  
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  establish common principles of thescript, e.g. graphic systems, alphabets,
  

the system of transcription signs, punctuation;

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  establish formal structures of the syllable, composite words, word combinations;
  
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  establish the formal structure of the sentence etc.
  

Semantic typology is a branch of Comparative Typology studying thesemantic structure of the language and related to the units of content plan. The ultimate goal of Semantic typology is identifying semantic universals which are directly related to the deep structure of the language.
Semantic typology are: identifying aims and problems of Semantic typology, defining different semantic fields for comparative analysis, grouping words on the basis of semantic signs, defining semantic fields in different languages, creating criteria to define semantic categories, elaboration of the principles of compiling semantic comparative dictionaries and many others. Some scholars debate that there is no need to distinguish Semantic typology into a separate branch as similar issues are studied under the scope of Lexical typology.
The major difference between the two seems to lie in the following: Semantic typology operates with the units of theemic level and is indifferent to theethic identity of compared languages. An understanding of form and function is a variation on the "knowing what vs. knowing how" discussion:
Form refers to the name of a thing (along with its definition). Function refers to how a thing is acting or operating in a particular context. When analyzing grammar in this textbook, understanding the difference between FORM and FUNCTION is one of the keys to successful analysis of words, phrases, clauses, and sentence in their context.
To begin, our language can be seen as layers upon layers, and we can analyze our language from a variety of perspectives, for a variety of reasons. So the first point to remember is that you can identify, or name, a form at the word level, at the phrase level, and at the clause level. Similarly, you can also analyze how each form is fuctioning in the context of a sentence (or passage). Once again, you can identify the function of a form at the word level, at the phrase level, and at the clause level.
FORM names things at the word level (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, relative, etc.), at the PHRASE level (main verb phrase, prepositional phrase, present participle phrase, past participle phrase, gerund phrase, infinitive phrase, etc.), and at the clause level (independent clause, dependent clause, subordinate clause, relative clause, nominal clause, etc.). There are lots of forms, but a finite number of functions.