Universal Grammar Theory

A Universal Grammar Theory is a linguistic theory that proposes the existence of innate grammatical knowledge enabling humans to acquire and process language.

• AKA: UG Theory, Innate Grammar Theory, Chomskyan Grammar Theory.
• Context:
  • It can typically explain Language Acquisition through innate linguistic capacity.
  • It can typically identify Grammar Universals across diverse languages.
  • It can typically address Poverty of Stimulus through innate knowledge structures.
  • It can typically model Linguistic Competence through universal principles.
  • It can typically account for Child Language Development through language acquisition device.
  • ...
  • It can often provide Theoretical Framework for linguistic analysis.
  • It can often influence Language Teaching Methodology through acquisition principles.
  • It can often drive Linguistic Research through grammatical universals investigation.
  • It can often connect Cognitive Science with language processing models.
  • ...
  • It can range from being a Strong Universal Grammar Theory to being a Weak Universal Grammar Theory, depending on its claimed innateness extent.
  • It can range from being a Syntactic Universal Grammar Theory to being a Semantic Universal Grammar Theory, depending on its linguistic domain focus.
  • It can range from being an Early Universal Grammar Theory to being a Modern Universal Grammar Theory, depending on its evolutionary stage.
  • ...
  • It can have Theoretical Implications for language evolution studies.
  • It can provide Explanatory Framework for cross-linguistic similarities.
  • It can generate Testable Hypotheses for language acquisition research.
  • It can face Scientific Challenges from [[empirical evidence].
  • ...
• Examples:
  • Universal Grammar Models, such as:
    • Principles and Parameters Models, such as:
      • Government and Binding Theory for syntactic structure analysis.
      • Minimalist Program for computational efficiency explanation.
    • Universal Grammar Acquisition Models, such as:
      • Language Acquisition Device for first language acquisition.
      • Parameter Setting Model for grammatical variation explanation.
  • Universal Grammar Applications, such as:
    • Linguistic Typology Frameworks, such as:
      • Parametric Variation Analysis for cross-linguistic research.
      • Universal Feature Inventory for grammatical categorization.
    • Language Development Theories, such as:
      • Critical Period Hypothesis for age-constrained acquisition.
      • Innateness Theory for species-specific language capability.
  • ...
• Counter-Examples:
  • Usage-Based Grammar Theory, which lacks innate grammatical structures and instead proposes language emerges from patterns of use.
  • Construction Grammar Theory, which lacks universal principles and focuses on language-specific constructions acquired through exposure.
  • Emergentist Linguistics, which lacks innate language device and views language as emerging from general cognitive processes.
  • Functional Grammar Theory, which lacks autonomous syntax and prioritizes communicative functions over universal structures.
  • Cultural Evolution Theory of Language, which lacks biological determinism and emphasizes cultural transmission of linguistic features.
• See: Human Languages, Linguistics, Noam Chomsky, Grammar, Psychological Nativism, Poverty of The Stimulus, Generative Grammar, Language Acquisition, Syntactic Structures, Innate Faculty.

---

---

References

2016

• (Wikipedia, 2016) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_grammar Retrieved:2016-9-13.
  • Universal grammar (UG) is a theory in linguistics, usually credited to Noam Chomsky, proposing that the ability to learn grammar is hard-wired into the brain. It is sometimes known as "mental grammar", and stands opposed to other "grammars", e.g. prescriptive, descriptive and pedagogical. The theory suggests that linguistic ability becomes manifest without being taught (see the poverty of the stimulus argument), and that there are properties that all natural human languages share. It is a matter of observation and experimentation to determine precisely what abilities are innate and what properties are shared by all languages.

2016

• http://www.salon.com/2016/09/10/what-will-universal-grammar-evidence-rebuts-chomskys-theory-of-language-learning_partner/
  • QUOTE: ... A key flaw in Chomsky’s theories is that when applied to language learning, they stipulate that young children come equipped with the capacity to form sentences using abstract grammatical rules. ... young children initially speak with only concrete and simple grammatical constructions based on specific patterns of words ... These findings, along with theoretical linguistic work, led Chomsky and his followers to a wholesale revision of the notion of universal grammar during the 1980s. The new version of the theory, called principles and parameters, replaced a single universal grammar for all the world’s languages with a set of “universal” principles governing the structure of language. These principles manifested themselves differently in each language. An analogy might be that we are all born with a basic set of tastes (sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami) that interact with culture, history and geography to produce the present-day variations in world cuisine. The principles and parameters were a linguistic analogy to tastes. They interacted with culture (whether a child was learning Japanese or English) to produce today’s variation in languages as well as defined the set of human languages that were possible.

---