Universal Grammar

Which linguist is usually credited with the theory of universal grammar?

What is the basic postulate of universal grammar?

What do children do when they receive linguistic stimuli during language acquisition?

What is the poverty of the stimulus (POS) argument?

What is the current status of the theory of universal grammar among linguists?

Which term is used to describe the process of learning a second language?

What is the scientific discipline that studies the process of second-language acquisition?

What is interlanguage in the context of second-language acquisition?

Which disciplines other than applied linguistics are involved in second-language acquisition research?

What does the order of acquisition of features in a new language suggest?

Universal Grammar

Noam Chomsky is credited with the theory of universal grammar.
The basic postulate of universal grammar is that there is an innate, genetically determined capacity for language acquisition in the human brain.

Language Acquisition

Children, when receiving linguistic stimuli, use universal grammar to create their own grammar rules and understand the language.

The Poverty of the Stimulus Argument

The poverty of the stimulus (POS) argument suggests that children are not exposed to enough linguistic data to learn a language through exposure alone, implying that there must be an innate component to language acquisition.

Current Status of Universal Grammar

The theory of universal grammar remains a topic of debate among linguists, with some supporting it and others criticizing it.

Second Language Acquisition

The term "second language acquisition" is used to describe the process of learning a second language.
Second-language acquisition is the scientific discipline that studies the process of learning a new language.

Interlanguage

Interlanguage refers to the intermediate language system that learners develop while acquiring a second language.

Disciplines other than applied linguistics involved in second-language acquisition research include psychology, education, sociology, and cognitive science.

Order of Acquisition

The order of acquisition of features in a new language suggests that there may be a universal, innate order of language acquisition, supporting the theory of universal grammar.

Test your knowledge of Universal Grammar with this quiz! Explore the theory of innate language constraints and syntactic rules proposed by Noam Chomsky. Challenge yourself to understand the biological component of the language faculty and its role in language acquisition.