First Language (Mother-Tongue) Interference in speaking

First Language (Mother-Tongue) Interference in speaking

Mother-tongue interference is the negative transfer of the structure of one’s mother tongue to a new
language that a person is learning. When you are learning a new language you already have the knowledge of your mother tongue. You may transfer this knowledge into the language you are learning. This transfer may have positive effects if the structure of your mother tongue and the new language is the same. But it may influence negatively if the structures of the two languages are different. This interference is known as mother-tongue interference. For example, in most Indian languages the word order (order in which words occur in sentences) is subject-object-verb (SVO) “Maine (I- Subject) aam (object) khaayaa (verb)”. However, in English it is subject-verb-object (SOV) as in, “I (subject) ate (verb) a mango (object).”

Mother-tongue interference can take place, while speaking or writing, vocabulary, at the level of grammar and pronunciation. To overcome these interferences at the level of pronunciation you will have to listen to good Spoken English, learn pronunciation from a teacher who speaks good English and learn from materials specially designed for the purpose of teaching pronunciation to learners. To overcome the interference of your mother tongue at the written level, you should read good English novels, short stories and contemporary drama, newspapers, journals, magazines, etc. In addition to this, you should keep remedying yourself by consulting good dictionaries with emphasis on usage. You may also go through materials dealing with common errors.