The simultaneous presence in a learner's grammar of two features that should be mutually exclusive (optionality) typifies second language acquisition. But generative approaches have no good means of accommodating the phenomenon. The paper proposes one approach, based on Truscott and Sharwood Smith's (2004) MOGUL framework. In this framework,…

This response to a paper concerning age-related effects and their relationship to universal grammar (UG) in second language (L2) acquisition looks first at both the paper in question and research on UG and L2 acquisition in general. After these observations, discussion focuses on the following four topics in relation to the paper: (1) the notions…

Discusses new understanding of the nature of language and of the importance of training teachers in the use of materials and equipment which have developed from this understanding. Language is basically patterns of sound, constantly changing in time, place and situation; patterns of sound appropriate to patterned social behaviour. (RB)

Explores research and theory regarding the relation between second-language acquisition and language universals research with respect to three phenomena: extraction; structure dependence; and the distribution of overt reflexives. (Author/CB)

Explores whether adult language learners have access to the principles of universal grammar in constructing the grammar of a foreign or second language (L2) by examining the interpretation of English and Japanese reflexive pronouns. The data suggest that L2 learners observe constraints defined by universal grammar that could not be derived from…

Responds to Birdsong's analysis of the authors' positions and data on asymmetries in SLA. The writers address the conceptual disagreements, theoretical positions, "indeterminacy" problem, and disagreements over evidence. The conclusion addresses the role of subjects' ability to detect ungrammatical sentences within the broader context of SLA…

Suggests that a narrow kind of bilingualism exists within every language and is present whenever two properties exist in a language that are not statable within a single grammar. This theoretical bilingualism is defined in terms of the minimalist theory of syntax presented by Chomsky (1995). (Author/VWL)

Seven peer commentaries are included in response to an article on the notion that a narrow kind of bilingualism exists within every language and is present whenever two properties exist in a language that are not statable within a single grammar. This theoretical bilingualism is defined in terms of the minimalist theory of syntax presented by…

Responds to peer comments on an article the author wrote on theoretical bilingualism--a narrow kind of bilingualism exists within every language and is present whenever two properties exist in a language that are not statable within a single grammar. (Author/VWL)

The article proposes Stern's (1983) framework for classifying issues related to instruction in order to ascertain the relevance of Universal Grammar (UG) in the ESL/EFL classroom. Discussed in this article, particularly as UG pertains to them, are issues related to: (a) L1 transfer; (b) teaching rules and giving error correction versus presenting…

This experimental study on the acquisition of the double-object construction in Spanish as a second language (L2) by a group of first language (L1) English adults investigates the role of Universal Grammar (UG) and its interaction with L1 in two modules of grammar: morphosyntax and semantics. The double-object construction in Spanish differs from…

The second language acquisition (SLA) literature reports numerous studies of proficient second language (L2) speakers who diverge significantly from native speakers despite the evidence offered by the L2 input. Recent SLA theories have attempted to account for native speaker/non-native speaker (NS/NNS) divergence by arguing for the dissociation…

Discusses research which suggests that language learning occurs by learning the regularities inherent in the semantic system and not by learning any regularities present in the syntax system. (EKN)

This article discusses the now established" fact that one aspect of language development in native English speakers is the increasing ability to embed larger and larger numbers of sentence consituents and considers its implications for second language acquisition. (FB)

Discusses the motivation for Universal Grammar (UG), as assumed in the principles and parameters framework of generative grammar (Chomsky, 1981), focusing on the logical problem of first-language acquisition and the potential role of UG in second-language acquisition. Recent experimental research regarding the second-language status of the…