Universal Grammar posits what about language learning?

Universal Grammar posits what about language learning?

• A. Language is entirely learned through imitation
• B. An innate language faculty enables rapid acquisition beyond general cognition
• C. Language arises from social routines rather than cognition
• D. Grammar emerges after extensive schooling

Answer: (B)

The idea being tested is that language learning is guided by an inborn language faculty that constrains how languages can be learned. Universal Grammar proposes that humans are born with an innate set of linguistic principles and parameters that shape how we acquire syntax, enabling rapid and systematic development that goes beyond what general cognitive abilities alone would predict. This helps explain why children can reach sophisticated grammatical knowledge quickly, even with imperfect input, and why languages show surprising similarities in structure across the world. Because of this built-in framework, children don’t rely solely on imitation or on social routines; those inputs matter, but they work within the constraints of an innate blueprint. The evidence also shows that grammar often arises early, before extensive schooling, which supports the view of an intrinsic language faculty rather than a skill learned only through formal instruction.

The idea being tested is that language learning is guided by an inborn language faculty that constrains how languages can be learned. Universal Grammar proposes that humans are born with an innate set of linguistic principles and parameters that shape how we acquire syntax, enabling rapid and systematic development that goes beyond what general cognitive abilities alone would predict. This helps explain why children can reach sophisticated grammatical knowledge quickly, even with imperfect input, and why languages show surprising similarities in structure across the world.

Because of this built-in framework, children don’t rely solely on imitation or on social routines; those inputs matter, but they work within the constraints of an innate blueprint. The evidence also shows that grammar often arises early, before extensive schooling, which supports the view of an intrinsic language faculty rather than a skill learned only through formal instruction.