Accessibility To UG In The Acquisition Of English Wh-questions By Chinese Learners

The issue of whether UG is accessible in L2 acquisition has long been much debated. So far, a number of studies have tested the sensitivity of UG on L2 learners, but there is currently no consensus. Hypotheses vary as to whether L2 learners have no access, partial access, or full access to UG. For this reason, the author of this dissertation initiates a research project to investigate L2 learners'accessibility to UG by studying Chinese L2 learners'sensitivity to two of the UG principles: Subjacency and the ECP, two constraint principles on wh-movement. In this project, great efforts are made to investigate the following issues: Is UG accessible to Chinese L2 learners? Do Chinese L2 learners show greater tendency to reject the sentences with both Subjacency and the ECP violations than to reject those with only Subjacency violation? Are Chinese L2 learners'sensitivities to different islands different? Does the starting age of learning English have a bearing on L2 learners'accessibility to UG? Chapter One of this dissertation deals with the UG theory, the logical problems of language acquisition and three hypotheses concerning the role of UG in L2 acquisition; Chapter Two interprets English and Chinese wh-questions, wh-movement as well as the principles of Subjacency and the ECP; Chapter Three reviews the main studies on wh-movement constraint in L2 acquisition in the past two decades; Chapter Four concerns the research methodology adopted in this study; Chapter Five involves collection, analysis and discussion of the data obtained in the GJ Task; Chapter Six is the conclusions. Based on the obtained data and evidence, this research project draws the following conclusions: Chinese L2 learners of English are sensitive to Subjacency and the ECP, thus sensitive to UG; Chinese L2 learners'sensitivities to different constraints are different; Chinese L2 learners tend to reject a lower rate of the sentences with both Subjacency and the ECP violations than those with only Subjacency violation; and there is no significant difference in L2 learners'sensitivity to UG as far as the learners'starting age of learning a L2 is concerned.