REVISITING UNIVERSAL GRAMMAR IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES AND CONTEMPORARY DEBATES

Abstract

The relationship between Universal Grammar (UG) and Second Language Acquisition (SLA) remains one of the most influential and contested areas in contemporary linguistic research. Grounded in Chomsky’s theory of innate linguistic knowledge, this concept paper critically examines the extent to which Universal Grammar continues to influence adult second language learning. The study aims to explore the role of UG in SLA, investigate its relationship with interlanguage development, and evaluate competing perspectives regarding adult learners’ access to innate grammatical principles. Adopting a qualitative conceptual research design, the paper synthesizes classical and contemporary scholarship on UG, including the Full Access, Partial Access, and No Access Hypotheses, as well as related concepts such as parameter setting, the Poverty of the Stimulus argument, the Critical Period Hypothesis, and interlanguage theory. The review reveals that second language learners construct systematic and rule-governed linguistic systems rather than acquiring language through imitation alone. Evidence from generative, cognitive, and neurolinguistic research suggests that while adult learners may not access Universal Grammar in the same manner as children acquiring a first language, innate linguistic constraints continue to shape grammatical development and interlanguage formation. At the same time, factors such as first-language transfer, cognitive maturation, instructional input, and sociocultural context significantly mediate language learning outcomes. The paper argues that the most convincing contemporary position is neither complete accessibility nor total inaccessibility of UG, but rather a dynamic interaction between innate linguistic mechanisms and domain-general cognitive processes. The study contributes to ongoing theoretical discussions in SLA by providing a comprehensive synthesis of foundational and recent research, highlighting the continued relevance of Universal Grammar while acknowledging emerging challenges from usage-based, cognitive, and neurolinguistic approaches. Future interdisciplinary research integrating generative linguistics, cognitive science, and language pedagogy is recommended to further clarify the nature of UG accessibility in adult second language acquisition.