There is a close relationship between Contrastive Analysis (CA) and translation. Each field provides data for the other to evaluate and analyze. On the one hand, CA offers insights into linguistic similarities and differences; on the other hand, translation reveals the difficulties encountered in practice, helping to minimize interference and misunderstanding between the source language (SL) and the target language (TL).

A systematic comparative study of languages did not emerge until the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Before the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) was formally established, Charles Fries (1945:9) argued: “The most efficient materials are those that are based upon a scientific description of the language to be learned, carefully compared with a parallel description of the native language of the learner.”

In the late 1950s, Robert Lado introduced the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis in his book Linguistics Across Cultures. He suggested that learners tend to transfer the forms and meanings of their native language when learning another language. However, structural and semantic differences between languages often lead to negative transfer and interference, which hinder communication and language learning. Therefore, a detailed comparison of languages is necessary to identify areas of potential difficulty, distinguishing between positive and negative transfer. Through such analysis, problematic elements can be anticipated and addressed appropriately.

Later in the twentieth century, the term Contrastive Linguistics was coined and defined as “a subdiscipline of linguistics concerned with the comparison of two or more languages or subsystems of language in order to determine both differences and similarities between them” (Fisiak, 1981:1). Baker (1998:48) further emphasized that contrastive analysis can also help explain translation difficulties faced by translators.

Contrastive Analysis considers the influence of the mother tongue on second language acquisition across all linguistic levels, including phonology, morphology, and syntax. Beyond its importance in language teaching and learning, CA also contributes significantly to fields such as machine translation and linguistic typology.

Chaturvedi (1973) proposed the following guiding principles for contrastive study:

1. Analyze the mother tongue and the target language independently and thoroughly.
2. Compare the two languages at all structural levels.
3. Classify the features into:
   a. similar features
   b. partially similar features
   c. dissimilar features
4. Derive principles for text preparation, test construction, and target language teaching in general.

In essence, Contrastive Analysis investigates the structures of two languages to compare their systems and identify differences. This approach is particularly valuable for describing phonological and grammatical structures, making comparative statements, and highlighting areas of compatibility between languages.

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