Language Transfer in English Writing.doc

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1、Language Transfer in English Writing Abstract: Language transfer is a common phenomenon in the language learning. Language transfer is the influence resulting from the similarities and differences between the target language and any other language that has been previously acquired. This paper lists

2、manifestations of language transfer and puts emphasis on making a contrastive study of the different characters between Chinese and English while analyzing the various mistakes in Chinese students English writing caused by the negative transfer from Chinese on the levels of lexis, syntax and discour

3、se. The purpose is to minimize the negative influence from Chinese and improve students English writing.Key words: negative transfer from Chinese, English writing, influence1.IntroductionTransfer is a psychological term, which refers to the influence of previous learning on subsequent learning. Tran

4、sfer is the influence resulting from the similarities and differences between the target language and any other language that has been previously (and perhaps imperfectly) acquired. (Odlin, 1989) Language transfer is a common phenomenon in the language learning. Language transfer is the effect of on

5、e language on the learning of another. (Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching & Applied Linguistics, 2000) In the process of the foreign language learning, learners will unconsciously bring the pronunciation, lexical, grammatical structures, and thoughts of the mother tongue into the target langua

6、ge. As a result, the mother tongue has some influence on the target language. This phenomenon is called language transfer. Language transfer includes positive transfer and negative transfer. Positive transfer refers to the transfer in which language learners knowledge of the mother tongue improves t

7、he acquisition of the new knowledge of the target language. Negative transfer, also called interference, is the phenomenon in which language learners use the models or rules of their mother tongue in the target language, resulting in the output of the informal or even wrong expressing forms of the t

8、arget language.In the English language learning, Chinese students try to utilize some mother tongue features more than that of the English language in communication. English writing is one of the output ways of language, and it is a process from deep structures to surface structures. From what to wr

9、ite to the output composition, it may take students quite a lot of steps to finish the writing tasks, that is, from their thoughts to words, sentences, passages and contexts. In this process, students may make a lot of mistakes caused by the negative transfer from their native language-Chinese. 2. T

10、he reassessment of the significance of language transfer and the manifestations 2.1 The reassessment of the significance of language transferIn the 1950s, language transfer was deemed the most important factor to consider in the theories of second language learning as well as in approaches to second

11、 language teaching.In the 1960s, its importance wanted as learners errors were seen not as evidence of language transfer but rather of “ the creative construction process ”. Some researches virtually deny the existence of language transfer in their enthusiasm for universalist explanations. Contrasti

12、ve Analyse Hypothesis (CAH), which was once an influential hypothesis concerning with the study of language transfer, was fiercely challenged by the emerging of error analyses. Some empirical evidence showed that learning difficulties do not always arise from cross-linguistic differences and those d

13、ifficulties, which do arise, are not always predicted by contrastive analyses. In recent years, the role of transfer is acknowledged and transfer is seen to interact with a host of other factors in ways not yet fully understood. “Its for the researchers to work towards a fuller theoretical understan

14、ding of how and when learners draw on their L1.” (Ellis, 1994) An important theory dominating the study of L2 learning now is the cognitive theory. It views the process of learning a language as “skill learning” engaging in perception, memory, problem solving, information processing, etc. In the vie

15、w of cognitive theory, transfer is not “interference” but a cognitive process. The cognitive theory, which views L1 transfer as one of but not exclusive factors interfere with the L2 acquisition, has replaced CAH accounting for L2 acquisition. Selinker put “language transfer” at the top of his list

16、of the five cognitive processes responsible for fossilization, interacting with other factors. Thus language transfer is now viewed as a resource, which the learner actively draws in interlanguage development.But some behaviorists such as Lado, Fries, held the idea that native language influence cou

17、ld greatly affected second language acquisition. According to Lado, elements in target language that are similar to his native language will be simple for him, and those elements that are different will be difficult. (Lado, 1957 see Odlin, 1989) But in recent studies, researchers find that some erro

18、rs occur are not due to native language influence but from other source such as transfer of training.2.2 The manifestations of language transferResearchers find that the result of language transfer is not only manifested by errors (negative transfer) and facilitation (positive transfer), but also by

19、 avoidance and over-use (over-indulgence), etc.2.2.1 Errors (negative transfer)“Negative transfer occurs when the previous performance disrupts the performance on a second task. It can also be referred to as interference.” (Brown, 1994) Errors can be divided into three types: interlingual errors, in

20、tralingual errors, and other types of errors. Interlingual errors refer to the influence of the native language and culture on the target language, usually called language transfer. Intralingual errors are those errors caused by learners misunderstanding of the rules of the target language. Other ty

21、pes of errors include errors occur due to nonstructural factors.2.2.2 Facilitation (positive transfer)L1 can also facilitate L2 learning in aspects that the two languages are similar with each other. Facilitation of native language does not mean that learners do not make mistakes where the native la

22、nguage and the target language are identical. “Facilitation is evident not so much in the total absence of certain error-as would be expected on the basis of behaviorist notions of positive transfer-but rather in a reduced number of errors, also, in the rate of learning.” (Ellis, 1994) “Positive tra

23、nsfer occurs when the prior knowledge benefits the learning task-that is, when a previous item is correctly applied to present subject matter.” (Brown, 1994)In the English classroom, the teacher should take full advantages of the similarities between English and Chinese and foster students awareness

24、 of positive factors to facilitate their understanding and learning of the English language.2.2.3 AvoidanceAvoidance refers to learners “avoidance of using linguistic structures which they find difficult because of differences between their native language and the target language.” (Ellis, 1994) For

25、 example, Chinese English learners always avoid the use of complex sentences in both oral and written situations, for they feel it hard to apply for it or liable to make mistakes in using it. But in the English teaching and learning, sometimes we find it is hard for students and teachers to locate t

26、he problem and solve it. We should pay enough attention to avoidance.2.2.4 Over-use (over-indulgence)Learners prefer to use linguistic and discourse features that seem simple to them, which is called “over-use” in transfer. It may be as a consequence of the avoidance of some difficult structures or

27、a result of intralingual processes such as over-generalization.It can also result from transfer-often as a consequence of the avoidance or underproduction of some “difficult” structure.3. Influence on English writing from the negative transfer of ChineseResearches show that language transfer occurs

28、in all aspects of language of phonology, lexis, syntax, and pragmatics etc. “Chinese English learners may have a lot of mistakes in their English language learning, 51% of which are caused by the negative transfer from Chinese.” (Su Dingfang, 1996) During my English teaching in the senior middle sch

29、ool, Ive collected large quantities of mistakes in the students English writing. And Ive found that the more differences exist between Chinese and English, the more mistakes students may make. It is likely to make use of the findings in L2 teaching to facilitate L2 learning and to minimize the negat

30、ive effects. In this paper, Id like to make a contrastive study of the different characters between Chinese and English while analyzing the various mistakes in Chinese students English writing caused by the negative transfer from Chinese on the levels of lexis, syntax and discourse.3.1 Lexis levelEa

31、ch language has its own special rules of word combination and sentence making. Chinese and English belong to two different language systems. Of course, they have different language rules. Chinese is analytic language in which word forms do not change and word order and the use of function words show

32、 grammatical functions. English is synthetic language, that is a language in which affixes may be added to the stems of a word to add its meaning or to show its grammatical functions. Due to such differences, Chinese English learners often make mistakes in oral or written works. Generally speaking,

33、negative transfer from Chinese on the level of lexis can be shown as the following aspects: the use of articles, single or plural forms of nouns, verbs and tenses, the use of words, etc. For example, “bian zhi” can be translated as “to go bad”. As a negative language transfer, in the Chinese languag

34、e, people will say “bad eggs (fruit, cheese, milk, tooth, etc.)”. But in fact, in the English language, therere many synonyms of “bad”. We should describe the above things suitably as “addled eggs”, “spoiled fruit”, “rotten cheese”, “sour milk”, “decayed tooth”, etc.3.1.1 Articles(1) There is public

35、 library in every town in Britain.* There is a public library in every town in Britain.(2) I have a good news to tell you.* I have a piece of good news to tell you.Analyze: There being no such words in Chinese that can be equal to articles in English, Chinese English learners often neglect the use o

36、f Articles in English. But after theyve learnt some English, sometimes they are confused by the use of Articles in English.3.1.2 Single or plural forms of Nouns(3) They were eager to know everything about China and asked me lots of question. * They were eager to know everything about China and asked

37、 me lots of questions.(4) I hope that you two could come and visit us some times soon. * I hope that you two could come and visit us some time soon.(5) The riches are always respected and the poors are always worth nothing at all. * The rich are always respected and the poor are always worth nothing

38、 at all.Analyze: Both Chinese and English have the grammatical item about single and plural forms of Nouns. But in the Chinese language, this item is just used to describe persons. However, in the English language, this item can be used to describe both persons and objects. Also therere regular and

39、irregular rules about plural forms of Nouns. Because of the difference between Chinese and English, Chinese English learners sometimes will neglect the plural forms when using this grammatical item. Another reason is that in the Chinese language, one noun is considered to be countable, while in the

40、English language, uncountable, or vice versa. And this also brings difficulty to learners in telling countable nouns from uncountable nouns. Take “yi zhang zhi” as an example. In Chinese, “zhi” is countable but in English, we should say “ a piece of paper”. Here “paper” is an uncountable noun.3.1.3

41、Verbs and tenses(6) This medicine will good to you. * This medicine will be good to you.(7) Play football not only makes me grow up. * Playing football not only makes me grow up.(8) This method can helps teachers to teach better. * This method can help teachers to teach better.(9) I learn about you

42、from my English teacher, Miss Fang. * I learnt about you from my English teacher, Miss Fang.(10) It was kind of them to meet me at the railway station and drove me to their home.* It was kind of them to meet me at the railway station and drive me to their home.Analyze: In the English language, “Subj

43、ect+Verb” (SV) is the core of a sentence. People put much attention on it. While in the Chinese language, subjects and verbs are not so related as that in the English language. When writing, Chinese English learners sometimes miss verbs, pay no attention to the agreement between subjects and verbs o

44、r modal verbs used together with verb forms of the third person. Another aspect is about tenses. In Chinese, people dont describe the tenses through the verb forms. While in English, therere quite a lot of forms to express tenses. Take the Past Tense as an example. In English, people say “ I did it

45、” while Chinese people say “ wo zuo guo le ”. In Chinese, people use “guo, le, etc. ” to describe things done.3.1.4 The use of words(11) Whether you success or not, you should work hard. * Whether you succeed or not, you should work hard.(12) The dictionary spent me a lot of money. * The dictionary

46、cost me a lot of money.(13) 看书 to read a book*; 注意身体 to notice your body*微机 small machine*; 进入房间 to enter into the room*; to read; to pay attention to your health; (micro)computer; to enter the roomAnalyze: In the Chinese language, we cant tell the word or phrase whether its a noun, verb or adj. etc

47、. But in the English language, from the word form, sometimes, we can see its a noun or verb, etc. This difference makes Chinese English learners feel it difficulty in using proper words when writing in English. Chinese English learners cannot tell the slight difference when using synonyms. They some

48、times have to express their thoughts in Chinglish (China English) because they havent learnt enough English words to express their thoughts, or they will describe something in English according to Chinese grammatical rules.3.2 Syntax levelInterference from L1 is said theoretically not so strongly fe

49、lt at syntax level as in phonology, lexis and discourse. (Ellis, 1994) Metalingual awareness may inhibit transfer in the case of word order. (Odlin, 1990) Most learners may have a much more highly developed metalingual awareness of grammatical properties than of phonological, discourse or pragmatic properties. This awareness may enable