Derivational Morpheme Errors in English: A Study of Libyan Students at Al-Mergib University
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29408/veles.v7i2.21305Keywords:
derivational morphemes, errors, prefixes, suffixesAbstract
Proficiency in a language entail mastering components such as lexical nuances and grammatical rules. However, morphology often gets overlooked in university programs, underscoring the need for students to heighten their morphological awareness to refine their English writing. This research delves into the errors in using derivational morphemes by third- and fourth-year English major students from Libya. The objective is to identify, categorize, and understand the root causes of these errors. The study, involving ten participants from Al-Mergib University, used a qualitative research approach with essay writing as the primary data collection tool. The analysis uncovers various errors in derivational morpheme usage. Specifically, the study recorded 36 omission errors, 16 order errors, 6 incorrect formations, and 3 other errors. A striking observation was that errors predominantly centered on suffixes over prefixes. The most frequent mistakes arose in the transformation of adjectives to adverbs and verbs to nouns, encompassing omissions, additions, misordering, and misformations. For educators, this study underscores the importance of understanding student challenges with derivational morphemes, especially related to verbs and nouns. It advocates for a pedagogical approach that includes group discussions analyzing relevant texts. By highlighting these errors, the study offers valuable insights into areas where Libyan students require focused attention in English morphology.
References
Abdul Hamid (2021). Acquisition of English derivational morphemes by students at selected universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Liberal Arts & Social Sciences International Journal (LASSIJ). 5(1), 338-356
Abeyweera, G.H. (2021). The use of affixation in academic English: A lexical explanation on affixation, root and meaning. Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Review. 5. 10.4038/jsshr.v5i4.62.
Agustiani, Silvia Nur. (2019). Morphosyntactic errors in the students’ written descriptive texts. Thesis. Semarang State University, Semarang.
Al-Khresheh, M. (2017). Challenges of Arabic-English translation: A practical guide. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Amalina, N. (2018). An analysis of students' errors in using English derivational morphemes. Journal of English Language and Pedagogy, 2(1), 1-11.
Arias-Gundín, O., & García L., A. (2021). Efficacy of the RTL model in the treatment of reading learning disabilities. Education Sciences, 11(5), 209. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11050209
Aronoff, M. & Kirsten, F. (2011). What is Morphology? Blackwell Publishing.
Bowers, P. N., & Kirby, J. R. (2010). Effects of morphological instruction on vocabulary acquisition. Reading and writing, 23(5), 515-537.
Fajrina, H. (2014). A morphological analysis of derivational suffix in Obama speech. Muhammadiyah University, Surakarta.
Fitria, N. (2008). An error analysis in changing verbs to noun (the case of the eleventh year students of SMU 1 Gebog kudus in the academic year of 2007 / 2008). [A final project of English Department, Languages and Arts Faculty]. State University of Semarang.
Fromkin, V., Rodman, R., & Hyams, N. (2011). An introduction to language, ninth edition (International Edition). Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Gao, Y., & Lu, X. (2018). An investigation into the acquisition of English derivational suffixes by Chinese EFL learners. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 9(6), 1198-1205. doi: 10.17507/jltr.0906.08.
Haspelmath, M. and Sims, A.D. (2010). Understanding Morphology. London: Hodder Education. Available at http://morphology.xyz/pdf/HaspelmathSims2010.pdf
Hornby, A.S. (2006). Oxford advanced learner’s dictionary. Oxford University Press.
Katamba, F. (2019). Morphology: Modern Linguistics Series Morphology: Modern Linguistics Series. New Jersy: Prentice hall inc.
Kim, J. H., & Tracy, R. (2014). Correction feedback on L2 writing: A case study of an advanced ESL writing class. Journal of Pan-Pacific Association of Applied Linguistics, 18(2), 45 64.
Lee, J. H., & Kim, J. S. (2018). The effects of English conversation clubs on speaking proficiency, motivation, and speaking anxiety. English Teaching, 73(2), 31-56.
Lopez, L., Alexiadou, A., Veesnstra, T. (2017). Code-Switching by Phase. Languages, 2(9), doi:10.3390/languages2030009
Major, T., Mayer, C., & Eziz, G. (2023). Disentangling words, clitics, and suffixes in Uyghur. Languages, 8(3), 203. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8030203
Martini, D. A. K. (2016). The types of morphemes used in “the fault in our stars” novel by John Green. E-Journal of English Language Teaching Society (ELTS), 4(2), 39-45.
McCarthy. (2006) as cited in Herman. (2015). Suffixes found in narrative writing at grade eight on SMP Methodist Pematangsiantar. Journal of Humanities and Social Science, (1), 1-15.
Nagy, W. E., Berninger, V. W., & Abbott, R. D. (2006). Contributions of Morphology beyond Phonology to literacy outcomes of upper elementary and middle-school students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(1), 134-147.
Nguyen, T. T. T. (2019). The effects of task-based language teaching on EFL learners’ speaking proficiency and motivation. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 8(3), 151-160.
O'Grady, W., Archibald, J., Aronoff, M., & Rees-Miller, J. (2006). Contemporary linguistics: An introduction. Bedford/St. Martin's.
Parsih. (2019). An analysis on students’ errors in using derivational affixes. [Thesis]. Semarang State University.
Rao, Parupalli. (2019). The role of English as a global language. Research Journal of English (RJOE), 4. 65-79.
Setyani, D. P. (2016). Students’ problems in making derivational words. [Thesis]. Semarang State University.
Sukmawati, N. (1995). Errors in English composition writing made by Indonesian EFL students: A case study. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 1(1), 23-28.
Ulya, W. (2017). An error analysis on derivational suffixes in the students' writing assignments of English teacher education department of state Islamic University of Sunan Ampel Surabaya. [Undergraduate thesis]. UIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya.
Yule, G. (2014). The study of language (5th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Zhang, H., & Zou, W. (2019). Morphological intervention in promoting higher-order reading abilities among college-level second language learners. Sustainability, 12(4), 1465. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041465
Downloads
Additional Files
Published
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with the VELES Journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
VELES Journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
