Analysis of Grammatical Errors in Written Assignments by Italian-Speaking Learners of Syrian Colloquial Arabic at the University Level in Italy

This study aims to identify the most prevalent grammatical errors in morphology and syntax committed by thirty Italian-speaking learners studying Syrian Colloquial Arabic who have been enrolled in the Master’s Degree program in Interpreting and Translation at the University of International Studies of Rome (UNINT). Furthermore, the research offers preliminary insights into factors contributing to these errors, examining the potential influence of learners’ native language (Italian), prior knowledge of Modern Standard Arabic, or other relevant factors. The corpus consists of 115 written assignments, including sentences, short compositions, and dialogues in transliterated Syrian Colloquial Arabic, collected during lectures from the academic years 2018/2019 to 2022/2023. Data analysis identified 342 grammatical errors in the writing assignments. The frequency data show that the most common errors primarily pertain to five linguistic categories: particles, agreement, verb tense, verbal system, and pronouns. Errors in these areas constitute 90,05% of the total errors (308 out of 342), thus the discussion is centered on these categories. Interlingual transfers appear to be the primary source of the most common errors.