Tense and Aspect Transfer Errors: A New Analysis of Transfer Errors in English Compositions of Jordanian University Students

238 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1988.This study is an attempt to provide a better understanding of the role of L1 transfer in a relatively neglected area, namely that of tense and aspect. In particular, this thesis investigates the role of transfer from Arabic into English with regard to forms and functions of the English tenses and aspects.The study provides a contrastive analysis of the Arabic and English tense and aspect systems. The analysis is conducted in terms of both form and function. The results of the contrastive analysis are checked against errors found in ninety-four compositions written by Jordanian university students. Ten of these error types are discussed in detail.The study reveals that the investigation of the role of transfer in the area of tense and aspect should take into consideration both form and function. Moreover, the study supports the view that language transfer should be looked at, not as a simple mechanical process, but rather as a complicated phenomenon that interacts in intricate ways with developmental factors of L2 language learning.The study lends support to Schachter's (1983) approach to language transfer, which acknowledges transfer as a constraint on hypothesis testing.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD