The Role Of The Principle And Parameter Theory In Second Language Acquisition

This thesis is intended to explore the accessibility of Universal Grammar in second language acquisition from the perspective of Chinese learners' interpretation of English reflexives.The question of whether or not Universal Grammar is available to second language learners has been the focus of much of the recent research on second language acquisition. Although Researchers working with a Principles and Parameters approach to linguistic theory have generally reached an agreement that UG is available to L2 learners, questions of exactly to what extent UG is available, and what is the influence of the first language are still highly volatile issues. This study probes the accessibility of Universal Grammar in Second Language Acquisition by analyzing evidence from Chinese learners' acquisition of English reflexives and further tests three theoretical frameworks (the Parametric Account, the LF Movement Account and the Non-movement Account) explaining the cross-linguistic variations in the grammar of reflexives. Based on the results from a Grammatical Judgment Test examining Chinese students' interpretation of English reflexives, this study leads to two findings. Firstly, the data support the idea that second language learners consult principle and parameters of universal grammar in determining the referential properties of anaphors in L2. Secondly, among the three theoretical frameworks, Progovc's Non-movement Account best explains the results obtained.