Reported speech: She asks me what my name is. NOT
She asks me what is my name.
8. General Truth
For reporting general truth or something which is still true, there is no need to change the verb whatever the tense of reporting clause is Murphy, 1985.
Examples: Direct speech: Tom said, ‘New York is more lively than London.’
Reported speech: Tom said that New York is more lively than London. The situation has not change that New York is more lively than
London. Direct speech: Mr. Tim said, ‘The sun rises in the East.’
Reported speech: Mr. Tim said that the sun rises in the East.
9. To-Infinitive and That-Clause
To report direct command, request, and advice, the form to-infinitive is used after object as it was discussed in the previous parts of grammatical changes.
Example: Direct command: ‘Be quiet’ Ann said.
Reported command: Ann asked me to be quiet.
Direct request: ‘Will you be my girl?’ Ivan said.
Reported request: Ivan asked me to be his girl.
Another change made when direct speech is converted into reported speech is the use of that-clause form. This is used when the reporting verb of direct speech is
suggest. 22
Example: Direct suggestion: ‘You should go now,’ Jane said.
Reported suggestion: Jane suggested that I should go then.
3. Errors
Since this study also deals with the reported speech errors, it is essential to elaborate what errors are in this part. Not only errors but also mistakes are discussed
here.
a. Definition
There are many views from some linguists telling about the definitions of errors. Brown 1987 says that an error is noticeable deviation from the adult grammar of a
native speaker, reflecting the interlanguage competence of the learner. According to Dulay, Burt, Krashen 1982, errors are flawed side of learner’s speech or writing.
They are part of conversation or composition that deviates from some selected norm of mature language performance. Another definition is stated by Corder that error is
the systematic deviation because the learner is still developing knowledge of the second language rule system cited in Dulay et al., 1982.
Reflecting the linguists’ notions of errors above, this study defines errors as the noticeable deviation of the target language occurring in English reported speech.
Specifically, errors studied in this research were the incorrect answers made by students in their reported speech test.
b. The Purpose of the Study of Errors
Study on the students’ errors is very important especially for the teachers or the lecturers. The students’ errors can be used as the feedback for them to know which
23 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
difficult parts the students face so that they can improve their teaching ability. Studying learners’ errors indicates to teachers and curriculum developers which part
of the target language students have most difficulty producing correctly and which error types detract most from a learners’ ability to communicate effectively Dulay et
al., 1982.
c. Errors versus Mistakes
It is usually difficult to differentiate errors from mistakes since both of them relates to the incorrectness. Thus, it is essential to clarify their differences in this
paper. Errors occur when someone makes incorrectness of the foreign language
grammar he or she learns but he or she does not know the correct pattern of it. As it is explained by Brown 1987 that, for example in many occasions, a student who
learns English says ‘John wills go,’ ‘John mays come,’ ‘John cans sing,’ and so forth, this phenomenon is called error. It is because the student is not able to
distinguish modals from other verbs. An error also occurs when someone communicates in more complicated language than he or she has so far learned
Lewis, 2002. Whereas mistakes occur when someone knows the correct pattern of the
grammar of foreign language he or she learns but he or she fails to utilise that correct pattern due to for example, slip of the tongue, hesitation, nervousness, and
forgetfulness Brown, 1987. A mistake is something that the speaker can correct for himself or herself if he or she takes the time Lewis, 2002.
24 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
d. Classifications of Errors
This study discusses error classifications proposed by Dulay et al. 1982. He classifies errors into four descriptive classifications. They are 1 linguistic category,
2 surface strategy, 3 comparative analysis, and 4 communicative effect Dulay et al., 1982. Those four classifications are discussed further below.
1. Linguistic Category
Linguistic category classifies errors according to either or both the language components or the particular linguistic constituents that influences errors Dulay et
al., 1982. Language components include phonology pronunciation, syntax and morphology grammar, semantics and lexicon meaning and vocabulary, and
discourse style. Constituents include the elements that comprise each language component. The examples of error types based on linguistic category classification
are presented in the table of error types based on linguistic category classification see appendix 3.
2. Surface Strategy
Surface strategy classification deals with the ways the surface structures of the sentences are altered Dulay et al., 1982. This classification has four error types
whose each type is explained further below. Omission
Omission is the absence of an item that must appear in a well-formed utterance. There are two types of omission. The first is omission of major content. This type is
characterised by the absence of an item that must appear in a well-formed utterance. 25
Kategori