Article and Preposition Use in Interlanguage Development: A Case Study Based on Two Access Positions of UG Perspective

Abstract

The theory of Universal Grammar (UG) has aroused intense research interest in language acquisition. However, scholars hold different positions on the accessibility of UG in second language acquisition (SLA). The aim of the case study was to identify a L2 learner’s patterns of preposition and article use and determined the accessibility of UG in interlanguage development. Two assumptions of research design were raised based on the indirect access position and full access position of UG. 7 patterns of preposition and article use were eventually identified by error analysis. 6 patterns were categorized as L2 grammatical overgeneralization while 3 patterns were considered as L1 transfer. The final results therefore presented that UG was generally available and directly accessible in the L2 learner’s preposition and article acquisition. The research method provided a potential framework for future study on UG through error analysis. Moreover, this work also implied that UG may show different accessibility in different word classes. Future work should focus on the determination of UG’s accessibility in different lexical categories.