Transfer Of Adjective Usage From Standard Arabic To English

Résumé: This research aims at investigating the reality of the phenomenon of transfer of adjective usage from standard arabic to english by algerian university learners who study English as a foreign language. For the purpose of examining our hypothesis, a test is given to twenty two students belonging to first year LMD students at the English Department, Larbi Ben M’Hidi university, Oum-El-Bouaghi. The analysis of students’ answers shows that Algerian learners transfer from Standard arabic and french. Whereas positive transfer is related to french, negative transfer is traceable to Standard Arabic more than French.hence, this research confirms our hypothesis. However, transfer from standard arabic (interlingual transfer) is not the only source of Algerian students’ errors since some errors are related to French and others are related to the target language itself (intralingual transfer). Thus, Algerian learners rely on Standard Arabic, in addition to French, knowledge in order to acquire an understanding of English adjective usage and, as a result, transfer phenomenon takes place.

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