The Influence of Principles of Universal Grammar on Second Language Acquisition

摘要叙述这个项目是关于普遍语法理论与第二语言的语音和句法习得的相关性的调查。早期的研究表明，第二语言学习者表现出的某些错误模式并不直接归因于母语或目标语言的语法，但仍符合独立提出的定义可能的人类语言的原则。研究将集中于两种类型的错误模式：涉及照应绑定的错误模式和涉及音节组织的错误模式。这个项目的兴趣不仅在于它有可能增加关于第二语言习得的相当有限的数据，而且还在于它与语言学理论中的核心问题的关系。语言学最近的许多工作都致力于发展一种理论，能够对自然语言之间的变异范围和儿童语言学习者的习得模式提供统一的解释。这一理论的形成还处于初级阶段，普遍语法原则在第二语言习得中是否发挥作用仍是一个悬而未决的问题。这项研究既关系到第二语言习得的本质，也关系到语言组织的普遍原则的性质。调查人员完全有资格进行拟议中的研究。首席研究员是一名新近毕业的博士，他一直活跃在句法和音系学理论的研究中。联合首席调查员还在音系学和词汇学理论方面进行了卓有成效的工作，最近几年，他还在第二语言习得科学研究的新兴领域开展了工作。两者都非常富有成效，他们的互补技能预示着项目的成功结果。

Abstract Narrative This project is an investigation of the relevance of theories of universal grammar to the acquisition of phonology and syntax in a second language. Earlier studies have suggested that certain patterns of errors displayed by second language learners are not directly attributable to either the native or the target language grammars, but are nonetheless consistent with principles that have been independently proposed as defining possible human languages. The investigation will focus on two such types of error patterns: those involving anaphor binding, and those involving syllabic organization. The interest of this project lies not only in its potential to add to the fairly scanty data available on second language acquisition, but also in its relation to central issues in linguistic theory. Much recent work in linguistics has been concerned with developing a theory that can provide a unified account of the range of variation across natural languages and the patterns of acquisition of the child language learner. The formulation of this theory is still in the preliminary stages, and it is still an open question whether the principles of universal grammar play any role in the acquisition of a second language. This study bears crucially on both the nature of second language acquisition and the nature of universal principles of linguistic organization. The investigators are well qualified to undertake the proposed research. The Principal Investigator is a recent Ph.D. who has been active in research in syntactic and phonological theory. The Co-Principal Investigator has also been working productively in phonological and morphological theory, and, for the last few years, in the emerging field of scientific research on second language acquisition. Both have been very productive, and their complementary skills portend well for a successful outcome of the project.