This course will focus on how generative grammar frameworks have modeled the (morpho)syntactic representations of speakers–in particular, those of second-language speakers. To this end, our course will examine second language acquisition within the framework of current generative grammar (Generative Second Language Acquisition Research). Within generative linguistics, certain principles of language are assumed to be innately present in the first language of the learner (L1), helping to account for the fact that children and L2 learners have been shown to acquire complex and subtle aspects of language even though these are rarely found in the input (the so-called “Poverty of the Stimulus” situation). This innate structure is known as ‘Universal Grammar” (UG). UG has been assumed to contain fixed principles, as well as parameters which allow for variation across languages. Input data from the first language interacts with these innate principles, helping children learn their L1 and children (and adults) to learn languages beyond the first.
Research on UG in SLA has focused on a number broad topics, including a) whether principles and parameters do constrain L2 acquisition, b) whether the assembly and reassembly of features plays an important role in explaining the syntactic representation of learners, c) the nature of the so-called ‘Logical problem’ of L1 and L2 acquisition, d) the acquisition and development of functional categories; e) the nature of the initial state of L2 acquisition, f) the nature of ultimate attainment and the existence of critical/sensitive periods, g) acquisition at linguistic and cognitive interfaces, and h) the role of the acquisition of the lexicon, among many others.
Although we will use Romance Languages (primarily Spanish) as our main departure point, the general theoretical approach and the theories and hypotheses we will study can be applied to the acquisition of any language.
This course will be a combination of lecture, discussion, assignments and original research papers. You will also participate in a workshop that you will lead where you will present a research project and learn how to incorporate feedback to strengthen your experimental design. Assessment will be based on class participation, paper summaries (and lit reviews), presentations, homework, and a research paper proposing an original study (or a conceptual replication).