This research is a comparative study of language interference in English articles written by Indonesian journalists. Based on nine stories - their drafts and their final edited version - taken from a monthly English magazine Indonesian Business, this study aims to see the negative transfer of Indonesian language in the daily work of the Indonesian journalists in producing their English articles. Any correction, which can be traced-back to the mother tongue of the journalists, i.e. Indonesian is collected and put as sample data for this research.
The analysis has focused on the problematic aspects of grammar and diction, which are considered as two main crucial aspects in writing. A thorough understanding to English grammar and a precise decision on choice of words are the biggest challenge for any foreign journalists working for an English publication including the Indonesian journalists.
The difference between writing and speaking, however, is that the writer still has a chance to revise before entering to further process. Something inappropriate can be changed or dropped and thrown away. Any famous writer will realize that the essence of good writing is having the 'braveness' to write imperfect draft, find the potential to revise it several times, and is not easily satisfied toward the end of the writing process. Writing across language, therefore, needs double attentions because it's not only about the challenge of producing good writing itself, but also the prior challenge to acquire good competence of the second language in use.
The findings of this research provide an insight on errors, which are most commonly produced in the stories written by the Indonesian journalists. Through a high awareness to the types of errors, the journalists are more alert not to fail on such errors. These errors might also be of concern in English teaching especially in teaching the subjects of grammar, vocabulary and writing. The problems that are found can provide reliable inputs for the design of teaching syllabus. |