Error Analysis of Case Markers in Writing: A Special Reference to Undergraduates Learning Hindi as a Foreign Language at the University of Kelaniya

Abstract

The Hindi language is considered as a widely spread language in India and some other parts of the world. In Sri Lanka, Hindi is taught as a foreign language at universities, schools, and some other institutions. The University of Kelaniya holds the only department for Hindi studies. Hindi is taught at Kelaniya for both B.A and honours degrees. Hindi has a rich system of grammatical case marking, which employs a variety of case markers. There are 8 case markers in the Hindi language. Understanding the proper use of these case markers need frequent practice and theoretical knowledge. Improper use of the case markers may make the whole sentence or phrase grammatically incorrect or change its meaning. Most undergraduates learning Hindi face many difficulties using case markers. This research will focus on the errors in case markers of undergraduates learning Hindi at the university of Kelaniya. The research sample is based on 47 undergraduates from general first, second, and third years and special first, second, and third-year cohorts who are learning Hindi as a foreign language at the University of Kelaniya. Undergraduates are given a questionnaire related to the case markers, then errors are analyzed. The outcomes of this study are to be displayed in the descriptive method using charts. The problem of the research is how accurate the undergraduates are using case markers in Hindi language. The main objective of this study is to identify the errors and causes for these errors and examine the overall progress of each batch. This study will help both undergraduates and teachers to identify the areas with more errors.