Contrastive

Analysis
Traduccin de Textos
Generales y Literarios InglsEspaol

Contrastive Analysis

Contents:

Introduction..page 3
Different kinds of contrastive analysis...page 4
Degrees of difficulty....page 5
Contrastive analysis of two languages at lexical level........page 8
How to compare two syntactic/grammatical structures........page 10
Contrastive analysis at discourse level (Discourse Analysis)...page 11

Contrastive Analysis
Contrastive Analysis is the comparison of two languages by paying
attention to differences and similarities between the languages being
compared.
Contrastive Analysis is extensively used in various fields such as:
1.
Translation.
2.
Teaching.
3.
Linguistics.
4.
Principal programming for writing a textbook.
5.
Error Analysis.
In respect to translation, Contrastive Analysis focuses on the following
aspects:
1.
The translator should be faithful to the text and should know the exact
equivalents in the two languages (source and target).
2.
The translator understands that most of the differences of the two
languages are not just semantic but also cultural.
3.
The translator understands that most of these come from different
beliefs, different values or different patterns of thought.

Contrastive Analysis
Different kinds of contrastive analysis.
There are two approaches according to different views towards
communication.
1.
Classical Contrastive Analysis.

Language is a self-contained system.

It believes in Code Linguistics. Code Linguistics deals with language as

an abstract system, using grammatical competence to distinguish
syntax, semantics, phonology and lexicon.

It is a linguistically-oriented approach.

It is static.

The focus is on linguistic elements.

2.
Modern Contrastive Analysis.

Language is a means of communication.

It believes in Human Linguistics. Human Linguistics deals with language

as a concrete system, using communicative competence to describe
the process of human communication. Domain of Pragmatics.

Is is a communicatively-oriented or participant-oriented approach.

It is dynamic.

The focus is on the process of development of discourse as the basis for

communication.

The discourse analyst studies the relationship between language and

the context in which it is used.

Contrastive Analysis
Degrees of difficulty.
We should be familiar with the concept of difficulty and simplicity in
language study. A contrastive analyst should predict the level of difficulty
in a foreign language to avoid using a high degree of difficulties along with
a high degree of occurrences in the same text. There are different levels of
difficulty in languages and they are organised in a hierarchy.
1.
Level 0: Transfer
This transfer presents no difficulty, hence the label of level zero is given to
it. No difference or contrast is present between the two languages. There is
positive transfer: similar sounds, lexical items or structures are seen in the two
languages. The concepts of negation and interrogation in the two
languages are the same and word order in the two languages has the
same pattern.
The translator can simply transfer (positively) a sound, lexical item or
structure from the native language to the target language.
hello hola

bye adis

good afternoon buenas tardes

Contrastive Analysis

Level 1: Coalescence
In this case two or more items in the source language are only one item in
the target language.
2.

handset, phone, telephone telfono

much, many mucho

Level 2: Underdifferentiation
An item in the source language is absent in the target language.
3.

anyhow we can only translate within a context

Contrastive Analysis
Level 3: Reinterpretation
An item that exists in the source language is given a new shape or
distribution. It is similar to a given item in the target language but not the
same. Due to the similarities errors could occur in the translation process.
4.

The pronunciation of the word internet is very different in English and Spanish

Level 4: Split
An item in the source language refers to more than one item in the target
language.
5.

head cabeza (parte del cuerpo), director, dirigir, lder

play jugar, tocar un instrumento
Im working at the moment tengo un trabajo, estoy trabajando

Contrastive Analysis
Contrastive analysis of two languages at lexical level.
Studying the lexical relationship among the languages through contrastive
analysis helps the translator to choose the best vocabulary he needs in
order to convey the meaning. Contrastive analysis looks at the formal,
semantic and pragmatic properties of the word in the two languages.
Patterns of similarities and differences which cause problems in vocabulary
or translation of a text:
1.
Cognates. These words have similar pronunciation and meaning in two
languages.
classclase

2.

lemonlimn

pairpar

Words similar in meaning but different in form. The words may have the
same meaning but the cultural connotations in each language may be
different.
partnerpareja

drinkbebida

Contrastive Analysis
3.

Words with strange meaning. The degree of difficulty here is high and it
creates a lot of misunderstanding in the two languages.

conservatoryhabitacin que forma parte de la casa y el jardn al mismo tiempo

3.

Idioms (phrasal verbs or metaphoric expressions).

look after cuidar
catch uprecuperar
mother-in-lawsuegra

5.

Words that have different connotations in the two languages.

Sometimes using words in translation should meet the cultural favourites
of the target language; it means that some words may have neutral
meaning in our native language but they bear some offensive or
immoral connotation in target language.
moorishmoro
gypsygitano

Contrastive Analysis
6.

Geographically restricted words. Some words or expressions are used

differently in different dialects.

petrol (United Kingdom)gas (United States)

lift (United Kingdom)elevator (United States)
film (United Kingdom)movie (United States)

How to compare two syntactic/grammatical structures.

A contrastive analyst should pay attention to the following grammatical
signals when comparing and contrasting languages:
1.
Word Order.
2.
Inflection.
3.
Correlation of form.
4.
Function words.
5.
Intonation.
6.
Stress.
7.
Pause.

Contrastive Analysis
Contrastive Analysis at discourse level (Discourse Analysis).
Studying language forms without paying attention to language use is
incomplete, so contrastive analysis goes beyond the limitations of structure
and analyses the use of language in a socio cultural setting.
Pragmatic aspects of language according to Discourse Analysis:
1.
Presupposition: Is what the the speaker assumes to be true or to be
know to the hearer. Shared knowledge.
2.
Context: Linguistic and Physical contexts can help understand the
speaker.
3.
Deictic expressions: Words which can never be interpreted unless the
physical context (reference) of the speaker is known (pronouns,
possessives, demonstratives and some adverbs)
4.
Ellipsis: The voluntary grammatical omission in a sentence. It is a
universal feature of language and they occur in most languages.

Contrastive Analysis

5.

6.
7.
8.
9.

10.

Substitution: A word is not omitted but instead is substituted by another

more general one. It is also a universal feature of language and
presents difficulty for translators.
Conjunctions: The signals between segments of the discourse.
Propositions: These express the coherence relations that the hearer
needs to recover in order to interpret a discourse.
Speech acts (illocutionary acts): They show the functions of language
and can be direct or indirect.
Cohesion: There are links and connections in a text that keep the text
together and help the reader to interpret and find the relations
between different parts.
Coherence: Those concepts which are expressed in a text and that
make it meaningful in some sense to the reader or recipient of the
message.