Which theory asserts language knowledge consists of universal principles with language-specific parameters across languages?

• A. Universal Grammar
• B. Cognitive-developmentalist theory of LA
• C. Innatist theory of LA
• D. Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis

Answer: (A)

Universal Grammar holds that language knowledge is built from a shared set of universal principles that constrain possible structures in any language, with differences across languages arising from a small set of language-specific parameters that get set according to the language being learned. The universal principles rule out impossible combinations, providing a common grammatical foundation, while the parameters capture how languages vary in specific ways—so the same underlying system can generate Spanish, English, Chinese, and other languages by toggling certain settings. For example, some languages allow omitting the subject (pro-drop), while others require an explicit subject; this difference is explained by parameter settings rather than by totally different grammars. This framework also accounts for how children acquire languages efficiently: they’re learning how to configure a universal toolkit to fit the input they receive. The other theories describe language development through broader cognitive processes or separate systems, but they don’t specify a universal set of principles plus parameter-based variation across languages.