Error Analysis of the Written English Essays of Pakistani ...

Asian Transactions on Basic & Applied Sciences (ATBAS ISSN: 2221-4291) Volume 01 Issue 03analysis has given a positive dimension toexamine errors, as“all language learning is based on continualexposure, hypothesizing and, even with thecorrect hypothesis, testing and reinforcingthe ideas behind them” (Bartholomae, 1980:97)[8].2. Literature ReviewError Analysis(EA) is one of the mostinfluential theories of second languageacquisition (SLA) which replaced theContrastive Analysis(CA) theory, whosemajor concern was “the comparison of twoor more languages or subsystems oflanguages in order to determine both thedifferences and similarities between them”(Fisiak, 1981, p. 1) in 1970. CA regarded theinfluence of mother tongue (MT) on all thelevels language; phonological,morphological, lexical and syntactic, insecond language acquisition. Due to theweaknesses of CA in its pedagogicalimplications, EA emerged as a moreeffective tool for in the study of secondlanguage acquisition. According to James,EA is “the study of linguistic ignorance, theinvestigation of what people do not knowand how they attempt to cope with theirignorance” (James, 2001, p. 62) [14].The advocates of EA considered it importantto draw a distinction between mistake anderror, which are “technically two verydifferent phenomena” (Brown, 1994, p.205). Corder (1967) [7] took notion ofChomsky‟s “competence versusperformance” distinction relating errors tofailures in competence and mistakes tofailures in performance. According to thisnotion a mistake occurs not because of lackof competence but because of processinglimitations which indicates learner‟sinability in utilizing knowledge of TL. Anerror results an infringement of the rules ofTL language and hence experience deviationin grammaticality of TL. Errors arisebecause of lack of competence. Nativespeaker can recognize and correct mistakes,but l2 learner need the linguistic competencyin TL to identify errors and correct themaccordingly.Error analysis focuses on the errors learnersmake by drawing a comparison between theerrors made in (TL) and that TL itself. PitCorder in his article, “The significance ofLearner Errors” (1967) [17] has given ErrorAnalysis a new dimension by answering tothe question of L1 and L2 acquisitionprocess being the same or not.July 2011 ATBAS-10124032©Asian-Transactions 31

Asian Transactions on Basic & Applied Sciences (ATBAS ISSN: 2221-4291) Volume 01 Issue 03In 1972, Selinker (in Richards, 1974, p. 37)[24] put forward the following five sourcesof errors:1. Language transfer2. Transfer of training3. Strategies of second languagelearning4. Strategies of second languagecommunication, and5. Overgeneralization of TLlinguistic material.Researchers have been attaching a greatimportance to the social and cognitivefactors in the studies of sources of errors.Investigating social factors provide evidenceas to why some learners have better writingability than the others and vise versa. Thisputs emphasis on the motivational aspect onlanguage learning. The goals, attitude andmotivation can why some learners preferpractice in their oral skills more thandeveloping writing skills.“Gardner‟s (1985) [11] socio-educationalmodel is designed to account for the role ofsocial factors in language acquisition. Itinterrelates four aspects of L2 learning: thesocial and cultural milieu (which determinesbeliefs about language and culture),individual learner differences (related tomotivation and language aptitude), thesetting (formal and/or informal learningcontexts), and learning outcomes.” (Myles,2002) The model emphasized that themotivational factors “probably do not makemuch difference on their own, but they cancreate a more positive context in whichlanguage learning is likely to flourish"(Bialystok & Hakuta, 1994, p. 140).Information processing, in languageacquisition, is essentially a cognitiveactivity. Perceiving, input of newinformation, formulating, reorganizing, allbecome a part of information processing.One of the important cognitive factors insecond language acquisition is languagetransfer.Myles in her article “Second LanguageWriting and Research: The Writing Processand Error Analysis in Student Texts” gavethe following views of different researcherson the Language Transfer:“Transfer is defined as the influenceresulting from similarities and differencesbetween the target language and any otherlanguage that has been previously acquired(Odlin, 1989).July 2011 ATBAS-10124032©Asian-Transactions 33

Asian Transactions on Basic & Applied Sciences (ATBAS ISSN: 2221-4291) Volume 01 Issue 03“The study of transfer involves the study oferrors (negative transfer), facilitation(positive transfer), avoidance of targetlanguage forms, and their over-use (Ellis,1994).”“Behaviorist accounts claim that transfer isthe cause of errors, whereas from a cognitiveperspective, transfer is seen as a resourcethat the learner actively draws upon ininterlanguage development (Selinker,1972).” [3]“In other words, "the L1 can have a directeffect on interlanguage development byinfluencing the hypotheses that learnersconstruct" (Ellis, 1994, p. 342).“According to McLaughlin, transfer errorscan occur because:[L]earners lack the necessaryinformation in the second languageor the attentional capacity to activatethe appropriate second-languageroutine. But such an account sayslittle about why certain linguisticforms transfer and others do not.(1988, p. 50).”Efforts are being made by non nativeEnglish language teachers to study thepatterns in the writing errors of non nativespeakers of English language to investigatethe learning problems so to design aneffective teaching material. Darus andSubramaniam (2009) in “Error Analysis ofthe Written English Essays of SecondarySchool Students in Malaysia: A CaseStudy,” made an attempt to “identify,describe, categorize, and diagnose the errorsin English essay writing of the Arabicspeaking Brevet students,” and concludedthat “only one-third of the second languagelearner‟s errors can be attributed to NLlanguage transfer, this is what this studycame up with. Most of the errors are causedby an over application of L2. We do need toincite our students to speak English at homeand with their friends in order to reduce thenumber of mistakes due to Negative L1transfer, but we also need to try to teachmore effectively the rules and conventionsof writing.”3. MethodologyThe procedural analysis of Ellis (1994) ofError Analysis is followed in the study. Theprocedure has the following steps:1. Collection of sample of learnerlanguage: Written sample essays2. Identification of errors: Actual3. Description of errors4. Evaluation of errors.3.1. ParticipantsJuly 2011 ATBAS-10124032©Asian-Transactions 34

Asian Transactions on Basic & Applied Sciences (ATBAS ISSN: 2221-4291) Volume 01 Issue 03The participants of the study are the 50undergraduate students of FAST NationalUniversity. They are registered in theEnglish Writing Composition course whichis the second semester course of theirComputer Science degree program. Theyhave taken the Basic English languagecourse in their first semester, which has aseven week of English writing module.All the participants come from theIntermediate background where English istaught as a subject course, hence their weakEnglish language proficiency.3.2. InstrumentThe instrument used in the study is essayswritten by 50 participants. The topic givenin the essays was general but argumentativein nature. The participants were required tonarrow it down to more specific one in orderto develop the argument in 300-350 words.It was a guided activity as the participantswere to follow the proper structure of anessay; interesting opening, thesis statement,logically coherent main body and relevantconclusion. The composition and expressionof ideas were expected to be grammaticallycorrect along with correct spellings. Ichecked all the 50 essays and collected theerrors for the study.3.3. Data of ErrorsI organized the data of errors according tothe following steps:1. Collection of sample of learnerlanguage: English essays written bynon native undergraduate students.2. Identification of errors: Actual errors3. Description of errors: Categorizationof errors based on their specificnature4. Evaluation of errors: Affectingintelligibility of social acceptability.Table1. Error Analysis of 50 Essays (Annexure I)Identification Description Explanation EvaluationWe people Literal translation We or we as a nationExp: Literaltranslation of thewords “hum log” fromthe Urdu languageError does not affectsintelligibility andsocial acceptabilityJuly 2011 ATBAS-10124032©Asian-Transactions 35

Asian Transactions on Basic & Applied Sciences (ATBAS ISSN: 2221-4291) Volume 01 Issue 03of “definately” the L2 learner spelt theword as spoken in day to day conversationwith influence of [ eI] sound of MT insteadof [I] sound of the underlined phone : def-inite-ly.The Interlanguage errors in the study haveprovided evidence of the inner working ofthe language learning process, and thelanguage in use having an intermediatestatus between the mother tongue (MT) andthe target language (TL). The application ofthe transitional rules has resulted into thesystematic deviation from the TL. Theparticipants‟ previous experience ofexposure to English language was mostlyconfined to classroom only where theEnglish was taught through grammartranslation method. The participants weretaught the rules of grammar first and wereprovided with insufficient learningenvironment to practice those rules. Theparticipants feel a huge gap between theknowledge of L2 that they have and itsrelevant application. The errors which showredundancy e.g. “Poor people are becomingpoor and more poor,” and affectintelligibility indicate lack of vocabularyand the overgeneralization of rules of TL. Inthe absence of sufficient practice, thelearners produce the language system whichdeviates from the system of TL.There are some errors which, although, areerrors by all technical definition but stillthey neither affect the intelligibility nor thesocial acceptability of an addressee in ourculture. For example, “we people,” is anerror which is very common among L2learners as it occurs mostly because of MT(Urdu) interference, but the occurrences ofsuch errors are so common in our culturethat they tend to be overlooked. Thistendency of overlooking an error whichbecomes acceptable due to its ability ofbeing able to convey the intended meaningin a particular culture, can lead tofossilization. Fossilized errors in writingbecome ingrained and despite correction andremediation they reappear.Among the errors collected from the essays,one unique error has been indentified whichwill likely to open new areas of research inerror analysis of English writing of nonnative speakers. One of the participantswrote “lyfe,” and “fite,” in the essay andlater on in the same essay these misspelledwords appeared with the correct spellings;“life,” and “fight.” These days, the reducedspelled words are heavily used in shortJuly 2011 ATBAS-10124032©Asian-Transactions 37

Asian Transactions on Basic & Applied Sciences (ATBAS ISSN: 2221-4291) Volume 01 Issue 03message service (SMS) and online chat.This shows the negative influence of thesestechnologies especially on L2 learners whoare committing unwanted errors despitehaving the right understanding of otherwisea limited knowledge of rules of TL.ConclusionThe results of the study show that majorityof errors are grammatical resulting fromInterlanguage process. Though, theparticipants were taught grammatical rulesof TL previously but the lack of practice andpositive feedback hindered the developmentof their proficiency in TL. Errors projectingredundancy show the lack of TL lexicon.Some of the errors indicate participants‟carelessness in the writing which shows lackof motivation for TL. This is a very commonphenomenon that L2 learner often feelsdemotivated and develop negative attitudetowards the target language. It results fromteachers‟ traditional role of overly correctingthe errors and treating them as an object ofundesirability. Another reason fordemoralization is that since acquisition of alanguage is a cognitive activity, often L2learners in our culture feel a psychologicaldistance between them and the targetculture.In Pakistan, language community of nonnativespeakers of English language, peoplemostly ignore the repeated errors, rather dueto lack of linguistic competence, they aresometime unable to identify them as errors.This frequently leads to the socialacceptance of an error. These errors caninitiate further research into the error studiesabout the possibility of fossilization of sucherrors or at one point of being ceased to beconsidered as errors at all in the PakistaniEnglish language context.Another area for potential research is toexamine the errors caused by the influenceof internet communication and SMStechnology and propose mechanism foraddressing the issue.Error Analysis can help the Englishlanguage teachers to identify theproblematic areas of language learning byproviding a deep insight into learner‟ssecond language acquisition process. Bystudying the changes that occur in the errorsof L2 learners in their continuous learningprocess, the teachers can predict the likelyerrors and can prepare their instructionalmaterial accordingly.July 2011 ATBAS-10124032©Asian-Transactions 38

Asian Transactions on Basic & Applied Sciences (ATBAS ISSN: 2221-4291) Volume 01 Issue 03References[1] Ferris, D. (2002). Treatment of error insecond language student writing. AnnArbor:University of Michigan Press.[2] Mitchell, R. and Myles, M. (2004).Second language learning theories. NewYork: HodderArnold.[3] Olasehinde, M. O. (2002). Error analysisand remedial pedagogy. In Babatunde S. T.and D.Selinker, L. (1972). Interlanguage.International Review of Applied Linguistics,10, 209-231.[4] Sercombe, P. G. (2000). Learnerlanguage and the consideration ofidiosyncracies by studentsof English as a second or foreign languagein the context of Brunei Darulsalam. InA.M.[5] Noor et al. (eds.) Strategising teachingand learning in the 21st century.Proceedings of theEuropean Journal of Social Sciences –Volume 8, Number 3 (2009)495[6] James, C. (1988). Errors in languagelearning and use: Exploring error analysis.Harlow,Essex: Addison Wesley Longman Limited.[7] Corder, S. P. (1967). The significance oflearners‟ errors. International Review ofAppliedLinguistics, 5(4), 161-169.[8] Bartholomae, D. (1980). Study of error.College Composition and Communication,31, 253-269.[9] Cumming, A. (1995). Fostering writingexpertise in ESL composition instruction:Modeling and evaluation. In D. Belcher &G. Braine (Eds.), Academic writing in asecond language (pp. 375-397). Norwood,NJ: Ablex Publishing Co.[10] Ellis, R. (1985). Understanding secondlanguage acquisition. Oxford: PergamonInstitute of English.[11] Gardner, R. (1985). Social psychologyand second language learning: The role ofattitude and motivation. London: EdwardArnold[12] Richards, J. C. 1971. A Non-contrastiveapproach to error analysis. EnglishLanguage Teaching Journal, 25, 204-219.[13] Lee, I. (1997). ESL Learners'performance in error correction in writing:Some implications for teaching. System, 15,465-477.[14] James, C. 2001. Errors in languagelearning and use: Exploring error analysis.Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching andResearch Press.July 2011 ATBAS-10124032©Asian-Transactions 39

Asian Transactions on Basic & Applied Sciences (ATBAS ISSN: 2221-4291) Volume 01 Issue 03[15] Schachter, J. 1974. An error in erroranalysis. Language Learning, 24, 205-214.Selinker, L. 1972. Interlanguage.International Journal of Applied Linguistics,10, 209-231.[16] DAI Wei-dong, SHU Ding-fang. 1994.Some research issues in contrastiveanalysis, error analysis and interlanguage.Journal of ForeignLanguages, 5, 1-7.[17] Corder, S. P. 1967. The significance oflearner‟s errors. International Review ofApplied Linguistics, 5, 161-170.[18] Spolsky, B. 1989. Conditions forsecond language learning. Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press.[19] Nemser, W. 1971. Approximativesystems of foreign language learners.International Journal of Applied Linguistics,9, 115-123.[20] American students in secondary schooland university.Journal of Second LanguageWriting, 2, 149-172.[21] Tierney, R. J., & Mosenthal, J. H.(1983). Cohesion andtextual coherence.Research in the Teaching of English,[22] Sasaki, M. (2000). Toward an empiricalmodel of EFL writing processes. Journal ofSecond Language Writing,9(3), 259-291.[23] Ramanathan, V., & Kaplan, R. B.(2000). Genres, authors, discoursecommunities: Theory and application for(L1and) L2 writing instruction. Journal ofSecond Language Writing, 9, 171-191.[24] Selinker, L. 1992. Rediscoveringinterlanguage. London: Longman GroupU.K. Limited, Essex.July 2011 ATBAS-10124032©Asian-Transactions 40

Asian Transactions on Basic & Applied Sciences (ATBAS ISSN: 2221-4291) Volume 01 Issue 03Annexure IUnsincere Word usage InsincereExp: The word used doesnot exist in thedictionaryYear‟s (years),Leader‟s (leaders)Effect‟s (effects)Politic‟s (politics)PunctuationYearsLeadersEffectsPoliticsExp: Use of apostrophewherever an „s‟ hasaddedOurselfs/ourselve Singular/plural OurselvesExp: The word used doesnot exist in thedictionaryPoor people arebecoming poor andmore poorWord orderPoor people arebecoming more andmore poorExp: The sentence needsto be rearrangede.t.c Punctuation etc.Exp: Use of full stop inbetweenFiteLyfSpelling mistakeFightLifeExp: The words havebeen spelt the way theysoundMughals Article The MughalsExp: Use of the withproper nounUnderdeveloped Word usage DevelopingExp: An outdated termThere/their Differentiation There you goTheir houseExp: Troubledifferentiating the twoaccording to theirmeaningDefinatelyPhilosiphyCritariaSpelling mistakeDefinitelyPhilosophyCriteriaExp: The words aremispronounced veryfrequently MT influenceas a result of which theyhave been speltaccordinglyGoverment Spelling mistake GovernmentExp: „N‟ is silent whenthe word is said out loudError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibility and socialacceptanceError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibility and socialacceptabilityError does not affectsintelligibility and socialacceptabilityError does not affectsintelligibility and socialacceptabilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityGovt. Abbreviation Government Error affectsJuly 2011 ATBAS-10124032©Asian-Transactions 41

Asian Transactions on Basic & Applied Sciences (ATBAS ISSN: 2221-4291) Volume 01 Issue 03Exp: Unnecessaryabbreviations in formalwritingIt‟s/its Differentiation If it‟s possibleThe cat and its tailExp: Problem telling thesame sounding wordsapartwhen It Capital letter When itExp: The first letter ofthe sentence is smallwhereas the second wordbegins with a capitalletterTheir lives is become Subject-verb agreement Their lives have becomeExp: Plural nounwhereas the verb used isone that should havebeen used with a singularnounPatriarky Spelling mistake PatriarchyExp: The word has beenspelt exactly like itsounds out loudSucide Spelling mistake SuicideExp: Mispronunciationleading to spellingHe is member of thissocietyArticlemistakeHe is a member of thissocietyExp: The word „he‟shows that it‟s singularso an article is requiredin the sentenceRoof on your head Preposition Roof over your headExp: The incorrect use ofpreposition here caneasily cause confusionand mislead the readerWhat do a student do Subject-verb agreement What does a student doExp: The verb used isneither suitable for thearticle that has been usednor for a singular nounFavourtism Spelling mistake FavoritismExp: Most probablymispronunciation led tothis mistakeHamppers Spelling mistake HampersExp: Mispronunciationdue to a heavy accentand lack of knowledge ofsyllables can lead to thiskind of a mistakeintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibility and socialacceptabilityError affectsintelligibility and socialacceptabilityError affectsintelligibility and socialacceptabilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityCigret Spelling mistake Cigarette Error affectsJuly 2011 ATBAS-10124032©Asian-Transactions 42

Asian Transactions on Basic & Applied Sciences (ATBAS ISSN: 2221-4291) Volume 01 Issue 03Exp: Mispronunciationcan easily lead to such amistakeQuaid-e-azam/Punjab Article The Quiad-e-azamThe PunjabExp: It‟s not a name buta title given because ofcertain attributes e.g.The Red KingDont Punctuation Don‟tExp: Apostrophe hasbeen missed outDoes‟nt Punctuation Doesn‟tExp: An apostropheshould have been usedwhere the vowel/letterhas been droppedNegetive Spelling mistake NegativeExp: It is difficult withwords such as these toidentify the vowel thatmight have been used inthe word and that caneasily lead to confusionand ambiguity resultingin such errorsCatastrophi Spelling mistake CatastropheExp: The word has beenspelt the way it sounds.Since there are manyGreek words in theEnglish language therules should be madeclearCrap Use of slang Rubbish/nonsenseExp: Although it is usedin colloquial languagerather frequently theword is not appropriateas far as formal writingis concernedAffect/effect Differentiation Things that affect ourlivesIt had an effect on himExp: Difficulty tellingwhich is noun and whichis verbAmbission Spelling mistake AmbitionExp: This suffix has asimilar sound and unlessone knows the spellingsby heart this mistake isinevitableCommiting Spelling mistake Committing Exp: Theroot word „commit‟ endsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibility and socialacceptabilityError affectsintelligibilityError affects socialacceptabilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityJuly 2011 ATBAS-10124032©Asian-Transactions 43

Asian Transactions on Basic & Applied Sciences (ATBAS ISSN: 2221-4291) Volume 01 Issue 03with a single „t‟ but withthe addition of the suffixanother „t‟ is required.Phonetically it is quiteobviousIt is not new word Article It is not a new wordExp: The word „word‟points towards a singularword. Hence, an articleis requiredGreif Spelling mistake GriefExp: Many words suchas receive have the samesound but where to use„ei‟ and where „ie‟ isrequired can be a bitconfusing. One needs toknow the spellingsRacisism Spelling mistake RacismExp: When read out loudthe word will moresyllables than originallyrequired. Payingattention to the sound ofthe word and thesyllables can solve thisproblem…children. and theresult isPunctuation…children and the resultisExp: Writing is also athinking process andwhen one has to write ina certain amount of timethe thinking process isdominant as compared towriting being a moreconscious process at thetime. When moreattention is being paid tothinking and a breakcomes in it is quitenatural to respond with abreak in the written workby adding a full stop.The thinking processgoes on and the mistakegoes unnoticedWexing Spelling mistake VexingExp: W and V have twodifferent sounds. Whenone is not familiar withthe difference it leads tomispronunciation as aresult of which itbecomes difficult to spellError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityJuly 2011 ATBAS-10124032©Asian-Transactions 44

Asian Transactions on Basic & Applied Sciences (ATBAS ISSN: 2221-4291) Volume 01 Issue 03it correctlyIronical Word usage Irony, ironic, ironicallyExp: The word used doesnot exist in thedictionaryAs a result to which Preposition As a result of whichExp: Instead of using„of‟ „to‟ has been usedThe power lies inourselvesPrepositionleading to a syntax errorThe power lies withinourselvesExp: Lack of knowledgeof grammar andconfusion regardingprepositions as well asliteral translation fromUrdu to English can leadto this errorCalliper Spelling mistake CaliberExp: The person knowsthe meaning of the wordand is familiar with thesound but has beenunable to differentiatebetween the sound ofcertain alphabets whichtend to get mixed upwhen the word is utteredin the flow of a sentenceOver Spreaded Word usage Over spreadExp: Knowledge ofdifferent forms of verb isrequired. Once that‟sthere such mistakes canbe easily avoidedSuch problem create Subject-verb agreement Such problems createExp: The subject showsthat it‟s a reference tosomething singularwhereas the verb used isone that should havebeen used with a pluralnoun as a result of whichthe subject and the verbconvey different ideasand are not in harmonyDonot Spacing Do notExp: Spacing is requiredbecause do and not aretwo separate words thatcome together to form anew word but they arestill written as twoseparate words. Thelatter merely succeedsError affectsintelligibility and socialacceptabilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibility and socialacceptabilityError affectsintelligibility and socialacceptabilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityJuly 2011 ATBAS-10124032©Asian-Transactions 45

Asian Transactions on Basic & Applied Sciences (ATBAS ISSN: 2221-4291) Volume 01 Issue 03the former. The wordsare not joinedCorreption Spelling mistake CorruptionExp: It is rather easydifferentiating betweenthe „u‟ and the „e‟ sound.The only reason for thismistake could becarelessnessPoors Word usage PoorExp: One of the wordsdo not have an „s‟ oranything other alphabetto indicate the pluralform. The knowledge ofsingular/plural in theEnglish language isrequired to avoid such amistakeFalage Word usage ParalysisExp: Urdu for„paralysis‟. Using Urduwords while writing inEnglish shows that thestudent‟s vocabulary isinsufficient and theyneed to build up theirvocabularyUniqe Spelling mistake UniqueExp: Although „u‟ iswritten in this word,there is no sound of thelast two letters i.e. u ande. English has borroweda lot from many otherlanguages therefore thespellings sometimes arerather confusing forwhich there is no logicalexplanation or fixedrulesThan/then Differentiation He is taller than her.Then what happened?Exp:The mistake occurs mostfrequently when it comesto showing acomparison. Although avery easy and simplerule, often ignored andmost of the times than isreplaced with then…if whether I shouldgo for it or notGrammarWhether I should go forit or notExp: There is absolutelyno need to use these twoError affectsintelligibility and socialacceptabilityError affectsintelligibility and socialacceptabilityError affectsintelligibility and socialacceptabilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityJuly 2011 ATBAS-10124032©Asian-Transactions 46

Asian Transactions on Basic & Applied Sciences (ATBAS ISSN: 2221-4291) Volume 01 Issue 03words together becausethe sentence can beformed with only one ofthem and using bothtogether only leads to asyntax errorAllete Spelling mistake EliteExp: The confusionregarding the rest of theletters can be understoodbut the word by nomeans has an „a‟ soundwhen pronouncedPeople are started tothinkSubject-verb agreementPeople have started tothinkExp: If the word starthad the suffix „ing‟instead of „ed‟ use of arewould have been correct.Here are will be replacedwith the word haveIt is a worst disease Article It is the worst diseaseExp: The third form ofverb has been used herewhich shows some kindof a comparison is goingon. With a comparativedegree the article usedhas to be more specific.When talking about acertain disease even ifthe name has not beenmentioned in thatparticular clause it isunderstood that it pointstowards somethingsignificant hence needsto be preceded by the notapakistan Capital letter PakistanExp: All proper nounsbegin with a capitalletter. Pakistan is thename of a country and aproper noun so the samerule applies hereBeautifull Spelling mistake BeautifulExp: The word full is acommon word in theEnglish language. Manystudents confuse thesuffix ful with the wordfullLose/loose Differentiation You might lose it.This shirt is loose.Exp: The two words notError affectsintelligibility and socialacceptabilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityError affects socialacceptabilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityJuly 2011 ATBAS-10124032©Asian-Transactions 47

Asian Transactions on Basic & Applied Sciences (ATBAS ISSN: 2221-4291) Volume 01 Issue 03only have differentmeanings but thepronunciations also vary.The problem is that bothhave a double o soundand many students arenot aware of thedifference between themeanings which not onlychanges the sense of theentire sentenceA man which Grammar A man whoExp: „Which‟ is usedwith non living things.It‟s a simple rule.Human beings fall intothe category of livingthings so instead ofwhich we need to usewhoIntelligency Word usage Intelligent, intelligently,intelligenceExp: Intelligent,intelligently andintelligence are wordsthat can be found in thedictionary but this worddoes not exist in anyEnglish dictionary. Someletters when put togetherstart sounding as wordsbecause they are oftenclose to words that doexistAltough Spelling mistake AlthoughExp: Most probably ahabitual mistake since ithad been repeated. Whenskimming we tend not tolook at all the wordsvery closely and it iseasy to miss out on letter„h‟ when preceded by „l‟and „t‟Salries Spelling mistake SalariesExp: The sound of an „a‟is obvious when theword is uttered. Theproblem could be eithermispronunciation or thatit is one of the Englishwords used in writtenUrdu quite often. Whenthis word is written inUrdu there is noError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibility and socialacceptabilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityJuly 2011 ATBAS-10124032©Asian-Transactions 48

Asian Transactions on Basic & Applied Sciences (ATBAS ISSN: 2221-4291) Volume 01 Issue 03indication whatsoever ofany vowel soundbetween „l‟ and „r‟Found/founded Differentiation I found the shoes.Pakistan was founded byMohammad Ali Jinnah.Exp: Founded is a wordthat carries a meaning ofits own but many peoplehave the misconceptionthat it is the second fromof the word foundGradually gradually Literal translation GraduallyExp: If we translate theword gradually intoUrdu the word we gettwo common words„ahista ahista and „raftarafta‟. Repetition of thisword, putting themtogether, is correct in theUrdu language butincorrect in English.Suppose ones firstlanguage is Urdu but oneis putting down that ideain English the errorpoints towards not onlylack of command overthe second language butliteral translation of theword or the phraseSpend a few millions Grammar Spend a few millionExp: With the use of „afew‟ the plural form ofthe word million is by nomeans suitableSocrate Spelling mistake SocratesExp: Since the namesounds almost the way ithas been spelt here in theUrdu language, thismistake can take placewhen one is not onlyunfamiliar with thecorrect spelling andpronunciation but thesound of „e‟ in GreekPeople/peoples Differentiation A lot of people came tothe party.The peoples of EnglandExp: Most of the peopleare altogether ignorant ofthe fact that „peoples‟ isan actual word. Thisleads to failure ofError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityError affectsintelligibilityJuly 2011 ATBAS-10124032©Asian-Transactions 49

Asian Transactions on Basic & Applied Sciences (ATBAS ISSN: 2221-4291) Volume 01 Issue 03appropriate use of theword at the right placeStrongness Word usage Strong, strengthExp: The word used doesnot exist in thedictionaryError affectsintelligibility and socialacceptabilityAnnexure II6 Hamppers 7 Ourselfs/ourselves7 Very worse 8 Poor people are becoming poor andmore poor8 Cigret 10 e.t.c9 Wexing 1112FiteLyf10 Folage 13 Mughals11 Allete 14 Underdeveloped12 Poors 15 There/their13 Roof on your head 16 Government14 Salries 17 It‟s/its15 Socrate 18 when It19 Their lives is become20 Sucide21 He is member of this society22 What do a student do23 Favourtism24 Quaid-e-azam/Punjab25 Don‟t26 Does‟nt27 Negetive28 Affect/effect29 Ambission30 Commiting31 It is not new word32 Greif33 Racisism34 …children. and the result is35 As a result to which36 The power lies in ourselves37 Calliper38 Over Spreaded39 Such problem create40 Patriarky41 Donot42 Strongness43 Intelligency44 Correption45 Poors46 Uniqe47 Altough48 Than/then49 …if whether I should go for it ornot50 People are started to thinkJuly 2011 ATBAS-10124032©Asian-Transactions 50

Asian Transactions on Basic & Applied Sciences (ATBAS ISSN: 2221-4291) Volume 01 Issue 0351 It is a worst disease52 Pakistan53 Beautifull54 Lose/loose55 A man which56 Salries57 Found/founded58 Spend a few millions59 People/peoples60 Catastrophi61 IronicalPercentage 11.4% Percentage 46.36%July 2011 ATBAS-10124032©Asian-Transactions 51