Sɔgɔkiré Native Speakers’ Personal Pronoun Errors in English: An Error Analysis

Abstract

Abstract: This study deals with personal pronoun errors made by Sɔgɔkiré native speakers in English. Personal pronouns are considered problematic for Burkinabe students in general and Sɔgɔkiré native speakers in particular. It aimed to identify types of errors, to determine the most frequent error type, and explain the causes of these errors. Data were collected from 40 participants, using two tests. A qualitative methodology was employed to analyze their personal pronoun errors in English. We deployed the error analysis theory framework by Gas and Selinker (1994) to guide the analysis. The findings of the study reveal that Sɔgɔkiré native speakers made subject and object pronoun errors in English, among which object pronoun errors were the most frequent error type. Additionally, the findings reveal that the errors of the participants were due to inter- and intra-lingual factors. Intralingual errors resulted from overgeneralization, ignorance of rule restriction, simplification, and developmental factors. Interlingual errors resulted from the interference of Sɔgɔkiré and French. Based on the findings, some pedagogical suggestions were made. Keywords: Personal Pronouns, Error analysis, Interlingual errors, Intralingual errors, Sɔgɔkiré.