The Effect of Age in Second Language Acquisition: An Error Analysis of the Written Expressions of Bilingual Syrian Individuals in Turkey

Öz

The purpose of this study is to examine the written documents of Syrian late bilinguals using error analysis to identify error types and uncover the correlation between late bilingualism and writing errors. Using a mixed methods approach, the written narratives of 80 Syrian late bilinguals aged 8 to 15 years were analyzed via document analysis. Findings revealed that 32% of the total errors were morphological. Considering morphological components are acquired at an early age, their decay requires many years. The research demonstrates a significant relationship between the error types produced in written expressions and late bilingual status. These findings add a new dimension to the critical period hypothesis in language acquisition theories, suggesting that traditional assumptions about the permanence of early acquired language skills should be reconsidered for late bilinguals living under dominant language influence. Psycholinguistically, the results indicate that written language production in late bilinguals involves systematic processing difficulties in morphological affixation, orthographic encoding, and phonological segmentation due to working memory load and dominant language inhibition.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Late bilingualism
• error analysis
• critical period hypothesis
• second language acquisition
• Syrian bilinguals.

İkinci Dil Ediniminde Geç Yaş Etkisi: Türkiye’deki İki Dilli Suriyeli Bireylerin Yazılı Anlatımlarına İlişkin Hata Analizi

Öz

Bu çalışmanın amacı, Suriyeli geç iki dilli bireylerin yazılı dokümanlarını hata analiziyle inceleyerek hata türlerini belirlemek ve geç iki dillilik ile yazma hataları arasındaki ilişkiyi ortaya çıkarmaktır. Karma yöntemin kullanıldığı araştırmada, 8 ile 15 yaş aralığındaki 80 Suriyeli geç iki dilli bireyin yazılı anlatımları doküman analiziyle incelenmiştir. Bulgular, toplam hataların %32'sinin biçimbilimsel olduğunu göstermektedir. Biçimbilimsel unsurların erken yaşta edinildiği göz önüne alındığında, bozulmalarının uzun yıllar aldığı söylenebilir. Sonuçlar, katılımcıların geç iki dilli olmaları ile ürettikleri hata türleri arasında anlamlı bir ilişki olduğunu kanıtlamaktadır. Bu durum, dil edinim kuramlarındaki kritik dönem hipotezine farklı bir boyut kazandırmakta ve yoğun baskın dil etkisi altındaki bireyler için geleneksel kabullerin yeniden değerlendirilmesini gerektirmektedir. Psikodilbilimsel düzlemde bulgular, çalışma belleği yükü ve baskın dilin engelleyici etkisi nedeniyle biçimbilimsel eklemleme, yazımsal kodlama ve sesbilgisel ayrıştırma aşamalarında dizgesel işlemleme zorluğu yaşandığını ortaya koymaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Geç iki dillilik
• Hata Analizi
• Kritik Dönem Hipotezi
• İkinci Dil Edinimi
• Suriyeli İki dilliler.

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