Language Acquisition and Universal Grammar
Pius ten Hacken , WS 2002/03
[ course description ] [ practical information ] [ schedule (top) ] [ schedule
(middle) ] [ bibliography ]
Course Description
According to the Universal Grammar (UG)
hypothesis, all human languages are similar when considered from a
sufficiently abstract level. Chomsky adopts the UG hypothesis in order
to explain that children acquire their first language seemingly without
effort, although the language system is quite complex. His theory makes
crucial use of the fact that UG should be powerful enough to enable the
child to acquire a first language and at the same time flexible enough
to account for
all different human languages. This means that his theory is
primarily intended as a way of explaining the logical possibility of
language acquisition.
In this seminar we will be concerned with the question how the UG
hypothesis can contribute to an explanation for actual language
acquisition. As a starting point, the UG hypothesis will be introduced
and explained. Then we will consider its influence in first language
acquisition and in second language acquisition. It is obvious that in
first language acquisition, UG plays an essential role. Here the main
questions
are how UG is used and what other procedures (knowledge, methods)
play a role in the acquisition process. In the case of second language
acquisition, the central question is to what extent UG is still
available. Different positions have been defended ranging from complete
availability of UG to complete unavailability.
Practical Information 
This seminar takes place on Fridays, 14-16. As Room 3 was is too small,
it has now been moved to
HS 107 of the
Kollegiengebäude . Note that we start at 14:00 sharp
and continue until 16:00, because in some weeks there will not be any
session (cf. schedule below).
It is possible to write seminar papers
for English Linguistics or for General Linguistics. If you intend to do
so, please consult the guidelines for
seminar papers .
A file with master copies of articles and chapters to be read by all
participants is available
at the English Seminar. Books for the preparation of presentations and
seminar papers will be in my office at the WWZ , Room
308 (third floor, first door to the right when you leave the lift). Cf.
the bibliography below for details.
Schedule
Please note that for professional
reasons I will not be available on all Fridays. In the
weeks marked in dark with white lettering, no session takes
place. Sessions marked in green are lectures. Sessions marked in
blue or red are student presentations .
In order to make up for the three
lost sessions, we will prolong the sessions with student
presentations by thirty minutes each by starting at 14:00 sharp
and continuing until 16:00.
Bibliography
1. Semesterapparat
These books are available at the WWZ, room 308. They can be taken out
for making photocopies only.
- Bloom, Paul (ed.) (1994), Language Acquisition: Core Readings
, Cambridge (Mass.): MIT Press.
- Clahsen, Harald (ed.) (1996), Generative Perspectives on
Language Acquisition, Amsterdam: Benjamins.
- Crain, Stephen & Lillo-Martin, Diane (1999), An
Introduction to Linguistic Theory and Language Acquisition ,
Oxford: Blackwell.
- Goodluck, Helen (1991), Language Acquisition: A Linguistic
Introduction , Oxford: Blackwell.
- Hornstein, Norbert & Lightfoot, David (eds.) (1981),
Explanation in Linguistics: The logical problem of language acquisition
, London & New York: Longman.
- Hawkins, Roger (2001), Second Language Syntax: A Generative
Introduction , Oxford: Blackwell.
- Klein, Elaine C. & Martohardjono, Gita (eds.) (1999),
The Development of Second Language Grammars: A Generative Approach
, Amsterdam: Benjamins.
- Ritchie, William C. & Bhatia, Tej K. (eds.) (1996),
Handbook of Second Language Acquisition , San Diego: Academic Press.
- Ritchie, William C. & Bhatia, Tej K. (eds.) (1999),
Handbook of Child Language Acquisition , San Diego: Academic Press.
2. Texts to be read by all participants
For these articles and chapters, master copies will be available in the
seminar file at the English Seminar.
- Hornstein, Norbert & Lightfoot, David (1981), "Introduction",
in Hornstein & Lightfoot (eds.), p. 9-31.
- ten Hacken, Pius (2002), "Chomskyan Linguistics and the Sciences
of Communication", Studies in Communication Sciences
2/2:109-134.
- Crain, Stephen & Lillo-Martin, Diane (1999), An
Introduction to Linguistic Theory and Language Acquisition ,
Oxford: Blackwell, Part I: "Linguistic Knowledge", p. 3-70.
- Chomsky, Noam (1999), "On the Nature, Use, and Acquisition of
Language", in Ritchie & Bhatia (eds.), p. 33-54.
- Gregg, Kevin R. (1996), "The Logical and Developmental Problems
of Second Language Acquisition", in Ritchie & Bhatia (eds.),
p. 49-81.
- Hawkins, Roger (2001), Second Language Syntax: A Generative
Introduction , Oxford: Blackwell, Ch. 1: "A Framework for Studying
Second Language Syntax", p. 1-33.