Interlingual and Intralingual Error Analysis of Georgian EFL Learners

Abstract

This study investigates the types of linguistic errors made by Georgian learners of English as a foreign language (EFL), focusing on a structural classification of these mistakes and their underlying causes. Drawing on written samples from intermediate- to advanced-level university EFL learners, the research categorizes errors into morphological, lexical, and syntactic types. Employing an error analysis framework rooted in Corder (1971) and refined by James (1998), this study distinguishes between errors in morphology (e.g., tense-aspect marking, article misuse), syntax (e.g., subject-verb inversion, constituent order), and lexis (e.g., collocational deviance, semantic overextension).

The analysis further distinguishes errors by source: interlingual (L1-included) and intralingual (non-L1-related). Interlingual errors are attributed to negative transfer from Georgian, such as article omission due to the absence of articles in the L1, or confusion between English perfect tenses and Georgian aspectual systems. In contrast, intralingual errors, including overgeneralization of rules (e.g., “comed”, “cutted”, instead of “come”, “cut”), analogical creation, or simplification strategies, reflect internal developmental processes common among EFL learners regardless of their native language.

Qualitative data analysis involves typological classification of the collected errors, including analogical creation, overgeneralization, etc. The findings reveal that while L1 influence significantly shapes morphological and syntactic errors, lexical and pragmatic errors are more often rooted in the complexities of the target language itself. Out of 300 written assignments, we found 51 interlingual (syntax – 20, morphology – 16, and other – 15) and 69 intralingual errors (syntax – 29, morphology – 22, other – 18).