Search

A generative approach to language acquisition is no different from any other in assuming that target language input is crucial for language acquisition. This discussion note addresses the place of input in generative second language acquisition (SLA) research and the perception in the wider field of SLA research that generative SLA ‘ignores’ the input. This impression may have arisen because generative SLA researchers have tended not to systematically study quantitative distribution of input properties, nor qualitative properties of the input available to learners. We argue that precisely these sorts of studies would be at least beneficial, if not indispensable, to the development of a comprehensive (generative) theory of SLA. Furthermore, a welcome side-effect of more systematic engagement with input would be potential for greater accessibility for generative SLA in the wider field of second language (L2) studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a developmental study of transformational complexity and sentence difficulty. Two studies investigated the validity of an index of transformational complexity in predicting the difficulty of sentence recall and completion by young children. During the past decade numerous studies have investigated the development of young children's abilities to imitate and produce various types of sentences. The central theoretical interest of the research has been to evaluate the relevance of formal linguistic concepts to the explanation of how linguistic knowledge develops. Hence predictions concerning the difficulty of sentence recall by children have been frequently based on current models of transformational generative grammar.