Universal Grammar

1. Universal Grammar
Discuss UG in SLA

2. INTRODUCTION
 Developed by Noam Chomsky and
numerous other followers in the last
few decades.
 UG is a “property theory,” it attempts
to characterize the underlying
linguistic knowledge in second-
language learners’ minds.

3. WHY A UNIVERSAL
GRAMMAR? p.1
 The UG approach claims that all human
beings inherit a universal set of principles
and parameters that control the shape
human languages can take, and which are
what make human languages similar to one
another.
 Government and Binding theory, Chomsky
(1981): core of human language must
comprise of those two components.
 Minimalist Program, Chomsky (1995): the
core of human language is the lexicon (the
word store) primarily within functional
categories.

4. WHY A UNIVERSAL
GRAMMAR? p.2
 Children have the help of an innate
language faculty to guide them.
 If there is a UG this would make the task
facing children much easier by providing
a genetic blueprint which determines in
advance the shape which language will
take.
 Second language grammars are
constrained by UG.1
 UG does not constrain second language
grammars or UG is impaired.2

5. WHY A UNIVERSAL
GRAMMAR? p.3
 Brief list of characteristics of first language
acquisition:
1. Children go through developmental stages.
2. Stages are similar across children for a
given language, although rate is variable.
3. Stages are similar across languages.
4. Child language is rule-governed and
systematic, rules do not correspond to adult
ones.
5. Children are resistant to correction.
6. Child language does not seem linked to
intelligence.1

6. WHAT DOES UG CONSIST OF?
 Principle of structure dependency- language is
organized in such a way that it crucially depends
on the structural relationship between elements in
a sentence.
 Move principle- whenever elements of a sentence
are moved to form passives or questions, the
movement takes account of the structural
relationships of the sentence rather than the linear
order of words.
 A over A condition- a principle which limits the
application of rules to a small sub-set of the logical
possibilities.

7. WHAT DOES UG CONSIST OF?
p2
 Parameters:
◦ Head parameter
 Noun Phrase-noun, Verb Phrase-verb,
Determiner Phrase-determiner.
◦ Head-first parameter
 English- because the head of the phrase
always comes before its compliments
◦ Head-last Parameter
 Japanese- the compliments precede the head
within the phrase

8. UG AND SECONG LANGUAGE
ACQUISTION
 Factors to consider when applying UG
to L2:
◦ Second language learners are cognitively
mature
◦ Second Language learners already know
at least one other language
◦ Second language learners have different
motivations for learning a second
language

9. UG AND SECONG
LANGUAGE
ACQUISTION
 Possibilities concerning SLL:
◦ Second languages are not Universal Grammar
constrained- Second languages are not
constrained by UG principles and parameters, and
they do not behave like natural languages.
◦ Second languages are UG constrained-
 Full access: the wholes UG is available to SLL, in the
same way as it is to first language learners.
 Partial Access: some parts of UG are not available any
longer.
 No Access: there is critical period for children acquire the
first language and that adults have to resort to other
mechanisms to learning a second language.

10. Conclusion
 UG can be seen form the angle of
being applied to language, language
acquisition, and language learner.
 UG also is used differently from first
language acquisition to second
language acquisition.
 There are many that argue for and
against the use of this theory for
second language acquisition.