Intralingual Errors Error Analysis
30 1 The learners do not know the structural pattern and so make random responds
2 The correct model has been insufficiently practiced 3 Distortion may be induced by the first language
4 The students may follow a general rule which is not applicable in particular instance.
Richards 1971:174-179 mentioned that intralingual errors are those which reflect the general characteristics of rule learning, such as faulty
generalization, incomplete application of rules, and failure to learn conditions under which rules apply.
It is believed that when a learner has started to acquire parts of the new language being learned, there will be more intralanguage transfer within the target
language Brown, 2007:264. It means that errors appear in this stage are those related to the system of the language being learned.
Overgeneralization is defined by Jakobovits as: ‘the use of previously available strategies in new situations. … In second
language learning… some of these strategies will prove helpful in organising the facts about the second language, but others, perhaps due to
superficial similarities, will be misleading and inapplicable’ Richards, 1971:174
This involves examples in which learners make new yet unnatural structure based on their experience of other structure in the target language. It is
also connected with redundancy reduction, especially with items which are contrasted in the grammar of the language but do not carry significant and
31 obvious contrast for the learner. Examples given are he can sings, we are hope, it
is occurs Richards, 1974:174. Selinker 1972:37-39 also mentioned that there five processes central to
second language learning, which are: 1. Language transfer. It is a condition where linguistic items, rules, and
subsystems occuring are the results of the native language NL 2. Transfer of training. It is when linguistic items, rules, and subsystems are the
result of identifiable items in training procedures. 3. Strategies of second language learning. It is if the linguistic items, rules and
subsystems are affected by an identifiable approach by the learner to the material being learned.
4. Strategies of second language communication. It is if the linguistic items, rules and subsystems are affected by an identifiable approach by the learner to
communication with native speakers of the target language TL. 5. Overgeneralization of target language TL linguistic material. It happens as a
result of a clear overgeneralization of target language TL rules and semantic features.
Meanwhile James 1998:185-189 said that errors deal with the target language can be traced back in the learning strategy and communication strategy.
Learning strategy based-errors are those explained below: 1. False analogy. This happens when the learner wrongly assumes that the the
new item B behaves like A, such as when she knows that the plural form of
32 ‘boy’ is ‘boys’ and assumes that the word ‘child’ behaves in the same way,
and finally produces ‘childs’ as its plural form. 2. Misanalysis. Misanalysis is when learners have formed a hypothesis
concerning an L2 item. However, their hypothesis is unfounded although it does not derive from the first language knowledge. Incomplete rule
application is the converse of overgeneralization. 3. Exploiting redundancy. It manifests throughout the system in the form of
unnecessary morphology and double signalling. 4. Overlooking cooccurence restrictions. This happens when learners incorrectly
used a certain word. An example of this case is ‘I would enjoy to learn about America’ in which learners ignore the fact that the verb ‘enjoy’ selects a
gerundial complement. 5. Hypercorrection is the results from learners over-montioring their L2 output
and attempting to be consistent, so it is akin to system simplification. The second type of intralingual errors is communication strategy-based
errors, which consist of holistic strategies and analytic strategies. The first strategies refer to the learners’ assumption that if you can say X in the language
being learned, then you must be able to say Y. This can take forms such as a near synonym credibility for the intended truth, a superordinate term fruits for
blackberries, an antonym or opposite not happy for sad and a word coinage sensities for sense. The latter strategies express the concept of indirectly. In this
33 way the learners identify one or more criterial attributes of the referent and
mention these in an attempt to refer to the entity in question.
34