Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
  1. Home
  2. Search

Refine search

Refine search

Access:
Content type:
Publication date:
Apply   From and To filters
Subject: Show more
Journals Show more
Publishers: Show more
Societies Show more
Series: Show more
Collections: Show more

Actions for selected content:

Select all | Deselect all
  • View selected items
  • Export citations
  • Download PDF (zip)
  • Save to Kindle
  • Save to Dropbox
  • Save to Google Drive

Save Search

You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
Cancel
×

1 results

  • 14 - Computational primitives in syntax and possible brain correlates

  • from Part II - Mind, brain, behavior
  • Edited by Cedric Boeckx, Kleanthes K. Grohmann, University of Cyprus
  • Book:
    The Cambridge Handbook of Biolinguistics
    Published online:
    05 May 2013
    Print publication:
    14 February 2013, pp 257-282

  • Summary

    This chapter explores the fate of the species-specific language making capacity (LMC) across the lifetimes of individuals and sheds some light on the problem of how it enables them to develop grammatical knowledge about their target languages. As far as the development of a grammatical competence in a first language is concerned, there indeed exists strong evidence in support of the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH). The more controversial question is whether critical periods also characterize successive acquisition of languages in spite of the fact that the LMC has been activated in the course of first language development. More specifically, the claim is that crucial parts of the language acquisition device (LAD) become inaccessible as a result of neural maturation, and although language acquisition continues to be possible, L2 acquisition differs in a number of crucial ways from L1 development. A grammatical development exhibits a number of sensitive phases.