Chomsky's Universal Grammar: An Introduction

This text provides an integrated account of Chomsky's ideas about language, based chiefly on the current version of his theory - the government/binding theory of linguistics. It starts from the fundamental concept of universal grammar as a property of the human mind, consisting of universal principles of language and parameters that vary within limits from one language to another. The implications of this are explored for first language acquisition, concentrating on the contribution of the mind and on the nature of the language evidence necessary. An outline of the sub-theories of GB and their relationship is presented, dealing with topics such as the X-bar theory in syntax, syntactic movement and case theory, with government a pervasive syntactic relationship in the theory. Chomsky's writings of the 1980s are incorporated together with lectures on GB theory, including ideas represented in the Managua and Kyoto lectures.

The theory of Universal Grammar is central to the concerns of present-day linguistics. The book is intended as an introduction for those who want a broad overview of the theory with sufficient detail to see how its main concepts work. The new edition of this highly successful textbook incorporates recent developments in the field.

Chomsky's Universal Grammar introduces both the general concepts of the theory, particularly its goals of describing the knowledge of language and of accounting for how it is acquired, and the main areas of syntax such as X-bar theory, movement and government. Like the first edition, it puts the technicalities of the theory in the context of its wider ideas in a manner that makes them accessible to the student. The new edition is based on the current model of syntax that is most widely accepted, incorporating Barriers syntax, functional categories, and Relativized Minimality, and their implications for language acquisition. Further, it provides a sketch of the model in the process of development, the Minimalist Programme, with its attempt to reduce the theory to the minimal essentials.