Introducing Universal Grammar
An Introduction to Universal Grammar
Chomsky (1986, in Debrowska, 2015, p. 2), believed that “universal Grammar is the system of categories, mechanisms and constraints shared by all human languages and considered to be innate." As Debrowska (2015) notes, these include formal universals, such as principles and parameters and substantive universals.
The theory of Universal Grammar (UG), is controversial due to the diversity of languages that exist across the globe. The theory was proposed by Chomsky (in Debrowska, 2015) and advocates that language learning is an innate ability and biologically determined. According to this theory, if a child is in a regular environment, they will acquire language and syntactic rules, such as nouns and verbs, in a set order. According to Chomsky (2006), children’s brains contain the Language Acquisition Device (LAD). Children have the grammatical rules for gaining language. It is for this reason, according to UG, that a child has a natural ability to acquire language.
As will be discussed further in this blog however, the belief that all language learners use the same grammar despite different input, does not explain the differences in adult native speakers’ knowledge of grammar. Also, the notion of a specific language learning center in the brain, will be shown to be inaccurate.
Chomsky (1966:43, in Hinkel, 2016, p. 86), disagreed with the Behaviourist view and stated, “it seems to me impossible to accept the view that language behaviour is a matter of habit, that it is slowly acquired by reinforcement, association and generalization.”
In contrast Chomsky (2006), believed that language is a biological, innate ability.
Chomsky (2006), also viewed errors as a positive outcome of the learner experimenting with hypotheses about the usage of language structures. Hinkel (2016, p. 87) stated that, “Chomsky claimed that, rather than rehearsing language structures, acquisition involved 'language in use', an active creative process of drawing on innate rules to generate language production.” Furthermore, Chomsky (1995, in Hinzen, 2013, p.28) studied language as a ‘natural object’, ‘a real object of the natural world’.
The theory of Universal Grammar (in Whong et al, 2013), changed from Chomsky’s initial ideas in 1957, to the Principles and Parameters
model in 1981, to the Minimalist Programme by Chomsky in 1995. As Whong et al., (2013, p. 4) states, the main idea of the theory continued, which was that “there is an innate set of
constraints that are distinct for language development, and these constraints (i.e.
UG) serve to guide the language acquisition process." As Whong et al., (2013) acknowledge, the fact
that children can acquire complex language skills in a short period of time,
from a small language source, without errors, is argued to be the outcome of a
Universal Grammar. As Whong et al., (2013, p. 4) notes, they call this ‘poverty of the stimulus’ that
despite a lack of a language stimulus, children can acquire a complex language.
This is also argued in UG theory, to apply to second language learning in adults.
The Principles and Parameters model developed by Chomsky in
1981 has a set of principles that are similar cross linguistically. There is a
principle that all languages have the same hierarchical organisation, beginning
at the word level to the phrasal level. According to Whong et al., (2013, p. 4), parameters “determine crosslinguistic variation, by offering finite sets of options from which learners
(subconsciously) choose, depending on the input that they encounter."
According to Whong et al., (2013) the Principles and Parameters model developed into the
Minimalist Programme which focuses more on how the different domains such as
syntax and semantics and pragmatics, relate to each other.
Three main principles of UG:
Language
universals: All
human languages share some properties, such as verbs and nouns.
Convergence: Children are exposed to different
input but use the same grammar, they understand the similarities in language.
Poverty
of stimulus: Language
is not learned just from language exposure.
Chomsky
noted that before children speak in a full sentence they use the structure of a
sentence in the correct order; subject, verb, object, such as in the following, "Dog eating dinner"
According to UG, all people can naturally differentiate small changes in sounds, such as in these words: bat, ban, bag, bam.
Infants realise that these words have different meanings because their pronunciation is different.
Stringer (in Whong et al., 2013), researched the acquisition of adjectives and prepositional modifiers and whether word order needs to be taught, or if universal hierarchies are innately known by the learner. Stringer's (in Whong et al., 2013, p. 9) results, suggested that there was a “universal syntax of prepositional modifiers” that does not need to be taught, but complex adjective order needs to be explicitly taught.
As Whong et al., (2013, p. 19) notes, in Universal Grammar natural language input is necessary, but not sufficient for language acquisition to occur. There is possibly the need for innate principles and the explicit teaching of grammar.
As will be discussed in the following blog posts, there is merit and controversy surrounding the claims of UG.
Chomsky, N. (2006). Language and Mind (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Hinkel, E. (Ed). (2016). Teaching English grammar to speakers of other languages. London: Routledge.
Hinzen, W., & Sheehan, M. (2013). The Philosophy of universal grammar. Oxford University Press.
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