The Oxford Handbook of Universal Grammar

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
17Th Century ◽  
Linguistic Theory ◽  
Port Royal ◽  
Comparative Syntax ◽  
Noam Chomsky ◽  
Structural Principles ◽  
Scholastic Philosophy ◽  
Philosophical Questions

The idea that all languages show affinities in their organisation, and particularly in grammar, is not a new one. It arguably originates in the thought of Plato and Aristotle, and manifests in medieval scholastic philosophy, in the 17th-century Port-Royal grammarians, and in modern linguistic theory. In modern linguistics, the concept of a universal set of structural principles that underlies the superficial grammatical diversity of the world’s languages has been most influentially developed by Noam Chomsky. The primary goal of this Handbook is to provide an overview and guide to this aspect of Chomsky’s thinking, to set Chomsky’s ideas in context, to look at their motivation, and to consider their implications. The Handbook is divided into five parts. Part I deals with the philosophical questions related to Universal Grammar (UG), Part II deals with general questions of linguistic theory, Part II with language acquisition, Part IV with comparative syntax and Part V with wider issues.

scholarly journals Goal of Language Acquisition is to Develop Communications Skills

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 49-50
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Coming Out ◽  
Teaching Method ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Linguistic Theory ◽  
Traditional Methods ◽  
Noam Chomsky ◽  
Communications Skills

Volumes about language teaching and language acquisition have been coming out ever since Noam Chomsky had leveled at structural linguistic theory. Books have been written about the approaches and methods of teaching a language. But the Undenying fact is that those volumes have failed to suggest an obvious impact on the listener. Though we have traditional methods such as “Audio lingual method” and “situational language teaching method”, none has brought the desired result..

HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS: AN INTRODUCTION.Lyle Campbell. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1998. Pp. xx + 396. $30.00 paper.

2000 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-290
Author(s):  
Donald F. Reindl
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Historical Linguistics ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Linguistic Theory ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Language Typology ◽  
General Linguistic

In his introduction, Campbell makes a case for the broader relevance of historical linguistics by noting that observing what does and does not change in language contributes to “the understanding of universal grammar, language typology, and human cognition in general” (p. 2). The generativist perspective that phonological and syntactic changes are linked to language acquisition, cited on page 236, illustrates one interface between historical linguistics and general linguistic theory.

6. Philosophical problems in physics, biology, and psychology

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samir Okasha
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Psychology ◽  
17Th Century ◽  
Isaac Newton ◽  
Space And Time ◽  
Noam Chomsky ◽  
Jerry Fodor ◽  
Biological Classification ◽  
Philosophical Questions ◽  
Taxonomic System

‘Philosophical problems in physics, biology, and psychology’ examines three philosophical questions that are specific to particular sciences. Firstly, the debate between Gottfried Leibniz (1646–1716) and Isaac Newton (1642–1727), two of the outstanding scientific intellects of the 17th century, concerning the nature of space and time is discussed. Secondly, the problem of biological classification is considered beginning with the Linnaen taxonomic system and then moving on to the rival taxonomic schools: the cladists and the pheneticists. Finally, the modularity of mind hypothesis in cognitive psychology is addressed. The work of philosopher and psychologist Jerry Fodor and linguist Noam Chomsky is used to illustrate this topic.

AN INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTIC THEORY AND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION. Stephen Crain and Diane Lillo-Martin. Oxford: Blackwell, 1999. Pp. xii + 424. $36.95 paper.

2001 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 440-440
Author(s):  
Rachel T. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Linguistic Theory ◽  
American Sign ◽  
L1 Acquisition

This enjoyable, informative book would serve as an excellent introductory text in a beginning course on language acquisition or linguistics. The content is somewhat narrower than the title suggests: The book deals exclusively with L1 acquisition, and its focus is Chomskyan syntax and Universal Grammar, with a bit of semantics presented toward the end (i.e., phonology is not addressed). Most of the data is from English, though other languages are explored (e.g., French, Japanese), with three very interesting chapters on American Sign Language.

scholarly journals A IMPORTÂNCIA DOS ESTUDOS SOBRE A GRAMÁTICA UNIVERSAL NAS PESQUISAS EM AQUISIÇÃO DE SEGUNDA LÍNGUA | THE IMPORTANCE OF UNIVERSAL GRAMMAR STUDIES IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION RESEARCH

2016 ◽  
pp. 163
Author(s):  
Rosi Ana Grégis
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
First Language ◽  
Noam Chomsky ◽  
Principles And Parameters

<p>A importância dos estudos da Gramática Universal (GU) de Noam Chomsky, tanto para pesquisas sobre a língua materna quanto para pesquisas sobre línguas estrangeiras, é incontestável. Para Chomsky e seus seguidores, aprendemos nossa primeira língua de maneira inata. Além disso, todas as línguas possuem certas características universais (princípios) e algumas diferenças entre si (parâmetros). Uma das questões mais relevantes acerca da relação entre a GU e os estudos de Aquisição de Segunda Língua (SLA) é saber se o acesso à Gramática Universal segue operando de forma semelhante quando aprendemos uma língua adicional. Esta pesquisa, de cunho bibliográfico, tem como objetivo principal discutir a importância desses estudos, assim como explicar as atribuições da GU na ASL e esclarecer algumas hipóteses sobre se há, ou não, acesso à GU por parte dos aprendizes de uma segunda língua.</p><p><strong>Abstract:</strong> <em>The importance of Universal Grammar (UG) studies, by Noam Chomsky, both to researches on first language<span style="text-decoration: line-through;">s</span> and to second language<span style="text-decoration: line-through;">s</span>, is uncontestable. To Chomsky and his followers, we learn our first language innately. Furthermore, all languages have some universal features (principles), and some differences among them (parameters). One of the most relevant issues about the relation between UG and the studies on Second Language Acquisition (SLA) is to know if the access to UG works in a similar way when we learn an additional language. This bibliographical research has as main goal discuss the importance of those studies, explain the assignments of UG in SLA, and describe some hypotheses that might indicate if  students of a second language have access or not to the Universal Grammar</em><em>.</em></p><p>Keywords: <em>Universal Grammar; Second language acquisition; principles and parameters</em>.</p>

Universal Grammar in Language Acquisition

1988 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 367-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sascha W. Felix
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Input Data ◽  
Developmental Process ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Linguistic Theory ◽  
The Other ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Specific Nature ◽  
The Past ◽  
External Evidence

Progress in linguistic theory during the past 20 years has made it increasingly clear that language acquisition must be viewed as an essentially deductive process in which the child analyzes the input data s/he is exposed to on the basis of an innately specified set of restrictive principles — technically known as Universal Grammar — which narrowly constrain the kinds of hypotheses a child will consider vis-à-vis a given set of data (cf. Chomsky 1980, 1981, 1986; Hornstein and Lightfoot 1981; White 1982; Felix 1987). As a consequence, there is a growing interest in the question of how exactly principles of Universal Grammar interact with the child’s linguistic experience during the course of language acquisition (see e.g., Pinker 1984; Hyams 1986; Lust 1986b; Roeper and Williams 1987 among others for some more recent proposals). It appears that there are currently at least two competing views about the nature of this interaction. One of these views which I shall call “perceptionism” holds that the task of Universal Grammar (UG) is essentially restricted to constraining the types of intermediate grammars that the child will construct, while the developmental process itself is essentially data-driven, i.e., driven by the child’s (changing) perception of the external evidence. The other view which may be termed “maturationism” claims that UG is both responsible for the types of (intermediate) grammars that in principle may emerge and at the same time for the specific nature of the developmental process. Under the maturationist view language acquisition is therefore seen as a process that is driven primarily by internal, i.e., biologically determined maturational mechanisms.

Language, innateness of

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Cowie
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Natural Languages ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
American Philosophy ◽  
Noam Chomsky ◽  
Anglo American

Is there any innate knowledge? What is it to speak and understand a language? These are old questions, but it was the twentieth-century linguist, Noam Chomsky, who forged a connection between them, arguing that mastery of a language is, in part, a matter of knowing its grammar, and that much of our knowledge of grammar is inborn. Rejecting the empiricism that had dominated Anglo-American philosophy, psychology and linguistics for the first half of this century, Chomsky argued that the task of learning a language is so difficult, and the linguistic evidence available to the learner so meagre, that language acquisition would be impossible unless some of the knowledge eventually attained were innate. He proposed that learners bring to their task knowledge of a ‘Universal Grammar’, describing structural features common to all natural languages, and that it is this knowledge that enables us to master our native tongues. Chomsky’s position is nativist because it proposes that the inborn knowledge facilitating learning is domain-specific. On an empiricist view, our innate ability to learn from experience (for example, to form associations among ideas) applies equally in any task domain. On the nativist view, by contrast, we are equipped with special-purpose learning strategies, each suited to its own peculiar subject-matter. Chomsky’s nativism spurred a flurry of interest as theorists leaped to explore its conceptual and empirical implications. As a consequence of his work, language acquisition is today a major focus of cognitive science research.

Child Second Language Acquisition of Syntax

1995 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Usha Lakshmanan
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Linguistic Theory ◽  
Direct Access ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Syntactic Theory ◽  
L2 Learners

Recent advances in linguistic theory within the principles and parameters framework have exerted considerable influence on the field of second language acquisition. SLA researchers working within this framework of syntactic theory have investigated the extent to which developing second language grammars are constrained by principles of Universal Grammar (UG). Much of the UG-based SLA research in the 1980s focused on adult L2 acquisition, but the role of UG principles in child L2 acquisition remained largely unexplored. More recently, however, this state of affairs has begun to change as SLA researchers are becoming more and more interested in child second language syntactic development. In this paper, I review recent and current developments in UG-based child SLA research, and I argue that child SLA has a valuable role to play in enabling us to arrive at a better understanding of the role of biological factors in language acquisition and in strengthening the links between SLA and linguistic theory. Specifically, I discuss the findings of child SLA studies with respect to the following issues: the role of UG parameters in child SLA, the status of functional categories and their projections in child SLA, and the nature of the evidence available to and used by child L2 learners. The overall picture emerging from these studies suggests that child L2 developing grammars are indeed constrained by Universal Grammar. While it is not fully clear at the present time whether the child L2 learners& knowledge is a result of direct access to UG or indirect access to UG (i.e., through the mediation of the L1), the evidence indicates that L1 transfer (at least in certain syntactic domains) cannot be entirely ruled out.

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