Syntactical Contrastive Analysis Of Malay And Thai Languages

This study is to determine the similarities and differences aspects of syntax between Malay language as the first language and Thai language as a foreign language among students of public higher educational institutions in Malaysia. Both of the aspects are among the factors that influence the process of learning Thai language among students. Students always make mistakes and errors in the oral and verbal activities in the class. Therefore, the objectives of the study are to identify the similarities and differences in the aspects of syntax for both the Thai and Malay language and to identify the types and causes of the errors and mistakes in learning Thai language among students of University Putra Malaysia (UPM) and University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). To achieve these objectives the researcher uses contrastive analysis and error analysis theory. Sample consists of 100 UPM students and 82 students from UKM learning Thai language from basic to advanced level in both universities. Findings of the study indicate that 97.1% of the respondents made mistakes due to the differences found in both Thai and Malay sentence structures. In addition, it is also discovered that the students made mistake in the Thai language learning due to influence of L1 system. Therefore, the researcher forwards a few approaches and suggestions in the teaching and learning of Thai as a foreign language in Malaysia