Which statement best describes universal grammar?

Which statement best describes universal grammar?

• A. It denies any universal grammar
• B. It argues that vocabulary size drives grammar
• C. It claims language is learned purely by imitation
• D. It posits an innate, universal set of grammatical principles

Answer: (D)

Universal grammar is the idea that there is an inborn, universal set of grammatical principles shared by all human languages. This view explains why children pick up complex rules so quickly with little explicit instruction and why languages around the world show similar underlying structures despite vast differences in sounds and vocabulary. It also accounts for the “poverty of the stimulus” problem: the language input children receive is often insufficient on its own to determine all rules, yet they still converge on robust grammatical systems. When children form rules like overgeneralizations (for example, applying a general past-tense rule), it shows they’re applying innate principles rather than only imitating adults. The other ideas fall short because they don’t capture the shared, universal patterns that grammar appears to have across languages, nor do they explain the rapid, rule-based acquisition children exhibit without explicit teaching. They also don’t address why children would systematically overgeneralize rules if grammar were learned purely by imitation or driven mainly by vocabulary.

Universal grammar is the idea that there is an inborn, universal set of grammatical principles shared by all human languages. This view explains why children pick up complex rules so quickly with little explicit instruction and why languages around the world show similar underlying structures despite vast differences in sounds and vocabulary. It also accounts for the “poverty of the stimulus” problem: the language input children receive is often insufficient on its own to determine all rules, yet they still converge on robust grammatical systems. When children form rules like overgeneralizations (for example, applying a general past-tense rule), it shows they’re applying innate principles rather than only imitating adults.

The other ideas fall short because they don’t capture the shared, universal patterns that grammar appears to have across languages, nor do they explain the rapid, rule-based acquisition children exhibit without explicit teaching. They also don’t address why children would systematically overgeneralize rules if grammar were learned purely by imitation or driven mainly by vocabulary.