Abstract
In this paper I will argue that child first language (L1) acquisition and adult second language (L2) acquisition are guided by distinct sets of principles. In particular, I argue that adult L2 acquisition follows from general learning strategies, while child L1 acquisition primarily follows from principles of Univesal Grammar (UG). This claim was originally made by Clahsen and Muysken (1986), in order to account for observed differences between children and adults with regard to the acquisition of German word order. The present study provides additional support for our original hypothesis by comparing the emergence of agreement markings in adult L2 learners of German and child L1 learners of German.
Revised version of a paper presented at the workshop Linguistic Theory and Second Language Acquisition, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Cambridge, Mass., October 23–27, 1985. I acknowledge Sascha Felix. Tilman Höhle, Pieter Muysken, and Dieter Wunderlich for their comments on earlier versions. I am also grateful to the editors of this book for helping me to improve the preliminary draft presented at the workshop.
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© 1988 Kluwer Academic Publishers
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Clahsen, H. (1988). Parameterized Grammatical Theory and Language Acquisition. In: Flynn, S., O’Neil, W. (eds) Linguistic Theory in Second Language Acquisition. Studies in Theoretical Psycholinguistics, vol 8. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2733-9_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2733-9_4
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