Contrastive analysis compares two languages by observing their structural similarities and differences. Its goals are to establish language interrelationships and aid second language acquisition. It originated from observing students’ linguistic errors caused by interference from their first language. Although simplistic, it helps explain language formation and history by producing family trees and linguistic genealogies. However, it fails to consider individual differences, dialects, and informal language rules.
Contrastive analysis is the study and comparison of two languages. For example, this may be comparing English to Latin or Basque to Iroquois. This is done by observing the structural similarities and differences of the languages being studied. There are two central goals for contrastive analysis; the first is to establish the interrelationships of languages to create a linguistic family tree. The second goal is to help second language acquisition.
The idea of contrastive analysis came from observing students learning a second language. Each student or group of students tended to repeat the same linguistic errors as the previous groups. This turned into an assumption that the errors were caused by the student’s first language interfering with the second. This interference occurred because the student applied the rules of the first language to the second language, much like how children apply the rules of regular words to irregular ones.
Serious studies of contrastive analysis began with Robert Lado’s 1957 book, “Linguistics Across Culture.” His central principles and other observations on second language acquisition became increasingly influential in the 1960s and 1970s. It was based on ideas expounded in linguistic relativity, also known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which held that the structures of language influence cognitive thinking. This led to the automatic transfer of rules from one language to another.
Contrastive analysis ideas about second language acquisition are considered simplistic. They assume that all students studying a language, who speak the same native language, make the same mistakes with each other. It does not take into account the possibility of individual differences. It also doesn’t help students avoid systematic errors. The only help for these students are lists of common mistakes.
Contrastive analysis fails to distinguish between the written rules of formal language and the unwritten rules of informal language. It also does not take into account differences between dialects. Most conflicting studies look at the basic building blocks of languages such as phonetics and vocabulary, and also the structural nature of many languages, including how they form sentences and change word forms.
Studies comparing and contrasting different languages still have a role to play in the formation and history of language. The production of family trees and linguistic genealogies is useful in explaining how different languages were formed and where they came from. It is also used to link different languages together.
Some languages such as Slavic, Germanic and Romance languages have obvious connections to each other and hark back to general proto-languages. The theory is that each language started out as a dialect and became more distinct over time. Some languages are more isolated and more difficult to explain such as Basque and Hungarian. Others, like Japanese, cause controversy because some think Japanese is unique, while others draw comparisons with Korean and a plethora of related languages like Okinawan, Yaeyama, and Yonaguni.
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