contrastivo

Contrastivo is an adjective used in Spanish to denote something related to contrast. In scholarly contexts it appears in phrases such as análisis contrastivo, or contrastive analysis, a method in linguistics and language teaching that compares two languages to identify systematic differences and similarities.

Historically, the approach is associated with the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH), which posits that learners' errors in a second language largely result from interference by their first language. The method involves creating inventories of phonological, grammatical, and lexical features of both languages, predicting where learners are likely to struggle, and using these predictions to guide instruction and assessment. Positive transfer, based on similarities, is also recognized.

Practitioners compare L1 and L2 components, anticipate transfer effects, and design teaching materials to address predictable problems. The approach influenced curriculum design and material development in the mid-20th century and remains a reference point in discussions of cross-language influence, transfer, and error patterns in second language acquisition.

Criticism and evolution: CAH faced substantial criticism as many errors could not be traced to L1 transfer, and some learners showed errors despite high similarities between languages. Some studies indicated that errors arise from universal developmental processes, input quality, and learner strategies. Consequently, the prominence of traditional contrastive analysis declined, though its ideas contributed to later models and are revisited in more nuanced forms.

Today, contrastivo remains a term used in Spanish-language linguistics; in English-language scholarship the term contrastive analysis is more common. The concept informs language-teaching theory, materials design, and cross-linguistic research, while being integrated with more dynamic accounts of language learning and transfer.