Problem Formulation Objectives of the Study Definition of Terms

B. Problem Formulation

There are two problems that will be discussed in the study. The problems are presented as follows: 1. What are the types of grammatical error in Will I Am’s songs? 2. What are possible factors that contribute to the errors in Will I Am’s songs?

C. Objectives of the Study

There are two objectives that will be analyzed in this research. The first goal is to observe profoundly grammatical errors in Will I Am ’s songs. There are many grammatical errors that are found in phrases, clauses, and sentences. The errors are taken from pieces of song stanza in Will I Am ’s songs. Moreover, the songs are not taken from specified albums in this research. The research aims to see the grammatical errors that are found in each album, soundtrack, and single. The second goal is to see the possible causes of the grammar errors that appear in Will I Am ’s songs. The research employs the biography of William Adams or Will I Am’s life and his profession. His biography has a crucial role in finding out certain characteristics of language that are used in his songs. In this case, the writer emphasizes how certain conditions influence his language use in the song writing.

D. Definition of Terms

This part will clarify the definition of certain terms that are used in the research. The terms overwhelm grammar, error, National Standards of English, and African American Vernacular English. The first terminology is grammar. According to Radford, grammar is a study that contains rules to form words into phrases and sentences. People are encouraged to construct sentence structures properly. Moreover, they are encouraged to understand the meanings of words, phrases, and sentences 1997: 2. The second terminology is error. The error is defined as “the systematic deviations due to the fact that learner is still developing of the language rule system ” Corder, 1967: 52. It means that there is a process of violating the rules of language in the communication process. People are encouraged to be accustomed to the system of language rules. The third terminology is National Standards of English. The term is generally recognized as the acceptable English that is used as the communication process in English speaking countries Quirk et al, 1974: 17. It means that by using certain Standard English, people whose various culture can understand others because they share similar set rules of English and similar meanings. In this research, it specifies American English as the basic rules to analyze the data. This research uses American English because the grammar rules that are applied in Will I Am ’s songs tend to use principles of American English. The last terminology is African American Vernacular English. African Americans have their typical principle of English. The dialect of American English that is used by the African Americans is called as the African American Vernacular English. Trudgill defines that the African American Vernacular English is a term that PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI is generally used to refer to nonstandard English which is spoken by working class African American people and in the informal style 2000: 52. It is identified by the history in slave trade periods which influence the language. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 6

CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE