PREPARED BY SAIMA , MUZAMMAL AND NAMREEN FIAZ

1. Theories of Language Description
Presentation on
Review of the Article

2.  Presented to:
Sir Tahir Saleem
 Presented by:
Muzammal Iqbal
Namreen Fiaz
Saima Rashid
M.Phil Scholars English (Linguistics)
University of Lahore Chenab campus (Gujrat)

4.  Universal Grammar and SLA
 The article discusses about Universal Grammar
presented by Chomsky. It has gained a lot of
attention by linguists. The researchers have cited
different researches and their results to the
application of UG in SLA. They are addressing the
problem that, the concept of UG is as much
applicable to the SLA as it is in L1.

5.  The most debatable question in the field of linguistics
 Whether linguistic capacities are innate or not
there are two thoughts
Nativist Empiricist
 Nativist
Children are born with some linguistics knowledge
 Empiricist
children acquire language from linguistic experience
 Since 1940s, behaviorism has dominant position in
interpreting the language learning
Learning is a process of stimulus and response.

6.  LAD
Chomsky put forward LAD to refer to the innate mechanism of
language learning.
 UG
• A way to introduce the idea of innate mechanism.
• Special device of human brain
• UG help people to learn language quickly
• Unconscious and potential knowledge
 1994, Cook stated that UG tries to account for the nature of the
language representation,
• The nature of language learning
• The nature of language use.

7.  UG characterize structure and processes children bring to task
of L1 (principles and parameters).
 According to Cook Language properties inherent in human
mind make up UG
 Carrol (2005) parameters as a grammatical feature that can be
set to any of several values.
 Null-subject parameters
 Null-subject parameters
The language allows sentences without a subject, i.e
(want more apples) this is correct in Italian or
Spanish but not in English.
 Subject parameters
The language requires subjects for sentences to be
grammatical, (I want more apple)

8.  Pro-drop parameter
 Relationship between subject and verb
 Pro-drop
Chinese is a pro-drop language as empty subject can occur and
inversion can take place i.e, Xia yu le
 Non-pro-drop
English is a non-pro-drop language because every English
sentence must have a subject, i.e, It is raining.
 Chomsky asserts that the grammar of a language can be regarded as
a particular set of values for these parameters.

9.  UG is the overall system of the principles and parameters.
 Hyams’s parameter-setting theorists also indicate that
children were born not only with the parameters and but
also with the values of the parameters.
 UG has the strength to address theoretically the projection
problem
The way in which learner know more than they
could have learned from the input to which they have
exposed. (Skehan, 77)

10.  The field of SLA study seems to be important both
theoretically and practically .
 The theoretical importance is closely related tour
understanding of how language is represented in the mind
and whether there is a difference between the way
language is acquired and processed.
 The practical importance arises from the assumption that
an understanding of how languages are learned will lead
to more effective teaching practices.

11. I. The disentanglement of issues concerning L2 learning development
from issues related to L2 classroom processes,
II. The discovery that the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis was
empirically inadequate,
III. The falling into disrepute of Lenneberg’s (1967) Critical Period
Hypothesis for language acquisition

12. I. Direct Accessibility Hypothesis
II. Indirect Accessibility Hypothesis
III. In Accessibility Hypothesis

13.  Direct Accessibility Hypothesis
Flynn and White have worked a lot on this hypothesis
They assert that adult learners learn both L1 and L2 by
setting parameters to UG.
Flynn compare 2 groups of L2 learners of English
Langauge.
Group one: (background of Spanish)
Group two:(background of Japanese and Chinese)

14.  Chinese is complement-head language
they have shown no significance for syntax
with the advanced stages of acquisition they
learned forward bending.
 Spanish learners have recognized early on that
value of head parameters due to same value of
head parameter in both Spanish and English.
 So, Flynn proves the accessibility of UG to
SLA.

15.  White has explored parameters models on the basis
of Flynn research. He asserts two questions;
 The first is absolute constraint
 The second is effect of L1 parameters settings on the
learning of L2 parameters settings.
 White has given grammatical judgment of L1 in L2. It
proves that L1 always effect L2. Although all
languages have links with UG but in L2 learning it
plays restricted role.

16.  Clahsen (1986) made a study on word order
acquisition.
 He has chosen German Language
 For one group it is L1
 For other group it is L2.
 First group learns SVO first and the second
group learn SOV.

17.  So, it was concluded that UG is inaccessible.
 He argues that L2 learners construct grammar
on the basis of general problem solving
strategies.
 This hypothesis proves that UG is accessible in
L1 and not in L2.

19.  UG in SLA
 Similarities of morphemes
 Learning process

20.  Process of language acquisition
 Cognitive ability of children and adults
 Environment of learning L1 & L2
 Input modes of learning L1 & L2
 Interference of other languages

21.  She states that UG to SLA is complicated
because of fundamental differences
 She argues that L2 learners already know L1.
 This is the basic reason of difference between
L1 & L2.
 She concludes that L2 learning is quite different
from L1.
 She speaks in favor of Krashan who
differentiates between L1 & L2 learning

22.  L1 is acquired language
 L2 is learned language
 Most of the scholars are in favor of Indirect
Accessibility Hypothesis

23. I. UG itself can’t stand still
II. UG researchers focus on what the underlying
theory deems to be important, means, the
agenda is set from the fundamental discipline.
III. UG does not complement effectively the
processing perspective.

24.  Significant theory
 Principals & parameters
 Logical concepts
 Analysis of problems

26. THANK YOU