Error (linguistics)

In applied linguistics, an error is an unintended deviation from the immanent rules of a language variety made by a second language learner. Such errors result from the learner's lack of knowledge of the correct rules of the target language variety.[1] A significant distinction is generally made[by whom?] between errors (systematic deviations) and mistakes (speech performance errors) which are not treated the same from a linguistic viewpoint. The study of learners' errors has been the main area of investigation by linguists in the history of second-language acquisition research.[2]

In prescriptivist contexts, the terms "error" and "mistake" are also used to describe usages that are considered non-standard or otherwise discouraged normatively.[3] Such usages, however, would not be considered true errors by the majority of linguistic scholars.[4][5] Modern linguistics generally does not make such judgments about regularly occurring native speech, rejecting the idea of linguistic correctness as scientifically untenable,[6] or at least approaching the concept of correct usage in relative terms.[7] Social perceptions and value claims about different speech varieties, although common socially, are not normally supported by linguistics.[8]

  1. ^ Ellis, Rod (1994). The Study of Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 700. ISBN 0-19-437189-1.
  2. ^ Ellis, p.43
  3. ^ Nordquist, Richard (2018-12-27). "Grammatical Error Definition and Examples". Glossary of Grammatical and Rhetorical Terms. ThoughtCo.com. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
  4. ^ Kapović, Mate; Starčević, Anđel; Sarić, Daliborka (2016). "O preskripciji i preskriptivizmu u Hrvatskoj". In Kryżan-Stanojević, Barbara (ed.). Jezična politika: između norme i jezičnog liberalizma (in Croatian). Zagreb: Srednja Europa. p. 51. ISBN 9789537963477.
  5. ^ Kapović, Mate (2011). "Language, Ideology and Politics in Croatia" (PDF). Slavia Centralis. IV/2: 46–48.
  6. ^ Trudgill, Peter (1976). Sociolinguistics and Linguistic Value Judgements: Correctness, Adequacy and Aesthetics. Universität Duisburg-Essen. p. 5. Archived from the original on 2018-12-01. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  7. ^ Lyons, John (1981). Language and Linguistics. Cambridge University Press. p. 52–54. ISBN 9780521297752.
  8. ^ Delaney O'Grady, William; Dobrovolsky, Michael; Katamba, Francis (1996). Contemporary linguistics: an introduction. Longman. p. 6. ISBN 9780582246911.