A Corpus-based Study Of Substitution Errors In The Compositions Of English Majors

Substitution errors are the most frequently committed errors by L2 learners at the word level.However, studies on substitution errors at home are not exhaustive. In light of this gap, with error analysis and language transfer as the theoretical basis, this study conducts an empirical study on word substitution errors through quantitative and qualitative approach based on the sub-corpus St5 in Chinese Learner English Corpus (CLEC). The study analyzes the distribution features and possible causes of substitution errors made by Chinese English majors. The findings are as follows: 1) 78% of the total substitution errors occur in the use of content words, especially in nouns, verbs and adjectives; 2) Substitution errors in the use of function words are relatively rare. However, substitution errors in the use of prepositions take up 14.15% of the total; 3) Literal translation from Chinese concepts is the major cause of substitution errors under each category in terms of part of speech. These substitution errors are interlingual errors which result from the interference (negative transfer) of mother tongue;4) Misuses of words with approximation meanings and similar spellings are also the important causes of substitution errors. These substitution errors are intralingual errors caused by learners' incompetence of target language. It is hoped that this research helps to fill in gaps in substitution errors in China and yield practical suggestions for English language teaching in terms of vocabulary.