To what extent do you think innate linguistic knowledge is involved in second language learning?

International Journal of Linguistics

ISSN 1948-5425

2016, Vol. 8, No. 4

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To What Extent is the Innate Linguistic Knowledge

Involved in Second Language learning?

Azhar A. Alkazwini

The Public Authority of Applied Education (PAAET), Kuwait

Tel: 965-9933-5574 E-mail: [email protected]

Received: June 15, 2016 Accepted: June 26, 2016 Published: August 16, 2016

doi:10.5296/ijl.v8i4.9897 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5296/ijl.v8i4.9897

Abstract

A number of theoretical possibilities regarding UG and L2 learning have emerged in recent

years. Some theories lend support to the fact that UG plays a role in L2 acquisition, where as

other hypothesis claims that L2 learners have no access to UG. In this paper, a detailed

explanation of these hypothesis in the light of different studies shall be presented, and the

claim that L2 learners have no access to UG is falsified by studies that prove the opposite.

Keywords: Universal grammar, Second language acquisition, UG, Language acquisition,

Second language learning, Language learning

International Journal of Linguistics

ISSN 1948-5425

2016, Vol. 8, No. 4

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1. Introduction

In the first part of this paper, the different theoretical possibilities regarding UG and L2

learning shall be present, then, the different arguments which appear to lend support to the

fact that UG plays a role in L2 acquisition will be given; later, I shall present a detailed

explanation of these hypothesis in the light of different studies, concluding that some theories

may not be as convincing as they were once thought to be. The claims that L2 learners have

no access to UG is falsified by studies that prove the opposite, and which are discussed later

in this paper.

According to White (1989:48), Universal Grammar (UG) is “a body of domain-specific

cognitive principles or mechanisms constraining the acquisition of language.” Studies

have been carried out for many years, to ascertain whether these same principles which guide

and constrain L1 (native language), apply also to L2 learners. Since the 1980s, according to

White (2003:15), evidence of whether, and to what extent UG mediates L2 acquisition has

been researched, ascertaining whether L2 learners have the ability to apply the principles of

UG, set or reset parameters, and the influence of L1 in the interlanguage grammar process.

The question is whether L2 learners have no access to UG, have direct access, or have

indirect access.

2. The role of UG

According to White (1989:48), the role of UG in L2 acquisition can be divided into five

categories, yet the two main ones are:

a) UG plays a role in L2 acquisition (UG hypothesis).

b) UG is totally unavailable in L2 acquisition (UG-is-dead hypothesis).

3. The Various ‘Access Hypotheses’

3.1 The ‘Fundamental Difference’ Hypothesis

According to Gass (2013:164). The ‘Fundamental Difference Hypothesis’ (Bley-Vroman

1989) represents the ‘no access position’. This hypothesis states that child L1 and adult L2

acquisition differ considerably, claiming that the latter is not constrained by UG, only that the

universal properties can be accessed via L1 grammar. It is argued that the L2 learner does not

have access to those linguistic mechanisms of the L1 acquirer. Advocates of this

hypothesis claim that learners are limited by their L1 parameters settings, or that their

grammars show no evidence for UG constrains (Schachter, 1989).

3.2 Access to UG Hypothesis

The other argument is that L2 learners do have access to UG, according to Gass (2013:165),

and that language grammars learned later are shown to have parameter settings totally

unrelated to L1. This is referred to as ‘direct access’ (Flynn, 1987).

Another possibility is that both L1 and UG play a role in L2 learning and the principles and

parameters of UG are accessible by the learners. Access would initially be through L1

International Journal of Linguistics

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2016, Vol. 8, No. 4

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grammar, but would inevitably become more restricted as a result of increasing L2 input

(White, 1989).

L1 as the base

3.2.1 Full Access to UG Hypothesis:

According to Gass (2013:168), L1 grammar is the main source with regard to this position,

but full access to UG during L2 acquisition is also available (Schwartz and Sprouse, 1994). In

this way, L1 grammar serves as the foundation, but when it fails to meet the requirements for

the completion of a specific learning task, UG will be drawn upon. There are major

differences between L1 and L2, and learners may never gain full knowledge of L2.

How L2 learners deal with the ‘syntax problems’ in the early stages of L2 language

acquisition is addressed by two well-known hypotheses. The first states that in addition to

syntactic categories, binary merger and headedness, UG also specifies a full phrase structure

for clauses up to the Clause Phrase (CP). All that is required of the L2 learner is to identify

the morphemes of L2 that belong to syntactic categories. They are able to build clauses due to

their innate knowledge.

3.2.2 Minimal Trees Hypothesis

According to Gass (2013:166), L1 and UG are both available to the learner (Vainikka and

Young-Scholten 1994), but functional categories are not available in the L1 grammar in this

position, nor are they available from any other source. L2 is the stimulus for functional

categories. Learners from different languages develop functional categories in grammar,

depending on their L1 and UG input.

According to Lezing (2013:126), ‘only syntactic categories for which the learner has overt

evidence from the target language are merged in phrase structure.’ L2 learners are able to

identify lexical morphemes before functional morphemes, therefore initially the L2 phrase

structure will consist of lexical categories like N, A, V. Mergers with categories T (Tense)

and C (Clause) take place later, with the ability to identify morphemes belonging to these

categories.

According to White (2003), learners have innate knowledge about syntactic categories,

binary merger and headedness which they easily bring to the learning task. It does not state

that UG specifies the phrase structure of clauses before learning starts. Only those syntactic

phrases which the learner has encountered in L2 are present in early phrase structure.

The following is a tree diagram I created representing an early utterance produced by an L2

learner ‘Me no red’:

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An advantage of the Minimal Trees hypothesis is that it does not demand the complete

phrase structure of the L2 learner to be present, but the ‘non-linguistic’ context must be

present in order to understand the early utterances of the L2 speaker.

4. The different Studies and Findings

4.1 Linguistic Principles That Cannot Be Derived From Non-Linguistic Sources

A number of studies in recent years have emerged to investigate the ‘UG-specific’ constraints

on the L2s’ knowledge of grammars that are not a derivable from the input of the L2, neither

from the L1, nor from any learning practices.

4.1.1 The Overt Pronoun Constraint (OPC)

According to White (2003:04), languages differ according to whether the subject pronouns

must be phonetically realized or not. Some languages, English for example, is a [−null

subject] language, therefore, pronouns must be expressed overtly. There are other Languages

are [+null subject], where pronouns are null. (Chomsky 1981a; Jaeggli 1982; Rizzi 1982).

4.1.1.1 Leroux Study (1999)

Perez-Leroux and Glass (1999) carried out a study on three groups of English speakers who

are at different proficiency levels of Spanish and 20 NS of Spanish. They were given a set of

sentences that were in English followed by sentences that they were asked to translate into

Spanish but they were already given the first words of the sentences. What is interesting is to

see how the pronoun of the embedded clause is translated, as whether the speakers would use

the overt or null form. The results showed that both groups (L2 speakers and native speakers)

responded similarly. The L2 Spanish speakers did not have much evidence for the overt

pronoun, as Spanish is a [+null subject] language. This is evidence that L2 grammar is

constrained by the UG and that the OPC constrains their grammar.

4.2 L2 Grammars can be Different from the Target L2 and from the L1, but are not Infinitely

Variable

According to Hawkins (2008:470), although input from L2 may cause the learners to

establish grammars that are different from their original L1, still, their grammars will not be

the same as a native speaker’s grammar. This might not be permanent as with experience and

exposure, the L2 learner will improve. This is because the linguistic properties of the

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language are not random, yet they are a result of UG properties.

4.2.1 Ionin et al. ‘Definiteness’ and ‘specificity’ (2004)

A study was carried out by Ionin (2004) on a group of L1 speakers of languages that lack

articles (Russian and Korean). According to Ionin (2007:556), the study was to observe their

use of English articles. It is supposed that if an L2 learner is acquiring a language as a

complete beginner and tries to learn the meaning of the articles ‘a, the and Ø (no article)’

without having any former linguistic knowledge, they could use many properties that could

be relevant. ‘Definiteness’ and ‘specificity’ are the two properties that L2 learners identify

when choosing articles in languages that do contain articles. Although the articles in the

English Language show definiteness, they lack specificity. An explanation is that in English,

the definite article cannot be used to relate to an indefinite meaning, and an indefinite article

cannot be used to relate to a definite meaning. For example, ‘She ate the ice-cream’ can never

mean ‘She ate an ice-cream’ and vice versa.

Table (1).

[+definite]: target the

[-definite]: target a

[+specific] Correct use of the

Overuse of the

[-specific] Overuse of a

Correct use of a

Ionin (2007:559)

According to Ionin (2007:559), the learners made errors when using English articles and their

errors had a pattern. They produced two kinds of errors; the over use of the article ‘a’ in

context of [-specific] [+definite] and the over use of the article ‘the’ in [+specific] [-definite]

context. Their use of articles in [+specific] [+definite] and [-specific] [-definite] was correct.

Ionin (2004) argues that ‘definiteness’ and ‘specificity’ are both ‘innately-specified options’

that are available in the learners’ UG and it allows them to use the articles, and that some

languages employ either one. Ionin believes that when L2 learners acquire a language that

contains articles, they are led by UG.

5. The Phrase Structure of Learners’ Early Productions

5.1 Ellis Study (1988)

According to Ellis (1988), syntactic rules must be acquired by L2 learners in order to

determine whether or not a sentence is grammatical. They must also acquire the syntactic

rules for sentence negation.

According to Ellis (1988:25), L2 learners would start by producing ungrammatical

expressions such as ‘I a red book no have’ as they have not acquired at this stage the syntactic

rules of English. Ellis believes that L2 learners follow a certain procedure when constructing

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sentences.

Morphemes are the smallest syntactic units. Learners construct sentences by ‘merging’ units,

and forming phrases. The phrases consist of two constituents, the main constituent being the

‘head’ of the clause. The phrases ‘merge’ with other categories and larger phrases are formed.

Although the knowledge of the syntactic categories and phrase structure is part of the innate

knowledge, L2 learners must acquire the linear order, as it is not given by UG.

6. Conclusion

The different hypotheses present different arguments regarding the role of UG in L2

acquisition. The claim by the ‘Fundamental Difference Hypothesis’ which states that UG has

no role in L2 learning is falsified by the ‘Access Hypothesis’, and the studies carried out by

Leroux (1999) and Ionin (2004). Although studies to some degree differed to the extent UG

influenced the L2 acquisition, they all prove that UG is present and plays a major role.

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