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Paper title SYNTACTIC ERRORS IN ESSAY WRITINGS AMONG SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM URBAN GIRLS SECONDARY SCHOOL, EKWULOBIA, AGUATA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA
Paper author GBOKWE ONYEKACHI NKIRUKA
Author Email [email protected]
Abstract
English Language is a great historical bequest inherited by Nigeria from the colonial masters.
The language swiftly found its place in all levels of administration in government, schools,
media and inter-ethnic integration in Nigeria. Despite this conspicuous position occupied by
the 1anguage in Nigeria, it has been assailed by myriad of grammatical-syntactic errors which
give navigation, purpose and aim to this research. The researcher used syntax, particularly
Chomsky's phrase structure grammar as theoretical frame work. The researcher adopted
combined methods of universal and classroom observation by Skinner (1965), and purposive
sampling by Bernard (2002), as methods of data collection. The researcher also used
descriptive grammar as method of data analysis Ndimele (2008). Through this research, the
researcher found out that Grammatical-syntactic errors emerge in two forms: intra-linguistic
errors and inter-linguistic errors, having the former heavily linked to mother tongue
interference and the latter linked to the student's over-generalization, over confidence and
wrong assumption due to inadequate knowledge in the target language. Beside the usual
grammatical and lexicon errors investigated by most researcher's, Discourse errors, a latent
error dimension was scratched open by the researcher along side with mechanical errors in
grammar; and the need to curtail the influx of both American and British standards of English
in one piece of essay. Keywords: Essay, Errors, Syntactic, Writing, School
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