Which theory posits a universal set of rules with language-specific parameter variation?

• A. Universal Grammar
• B. Emergentism
• C. Sociolinguistics
• D. Lexical semantics

Answer: (A)

Universal Grammar holds that humans are born with a shared, innate set of grammatical principles that underlie all languages. The variation we see across languages comes from language-specific parameter settings within that universal framework. In other words, the same underlying rules are globally available, but certain options are fixed differently from one language to another, leading to diverse grammars. This view explains why children can acquire languages rapidly from limited data and why there are striking similarities across languages. Other theories describe different things: Emergentism says grammar arises from general cognitive abilities and language use rather than prewired rules; Sociolinguistics examines how social context shapes language variation; Lexical semantics concerns word meaning. The concept described is the one that asserts a universal set of rules with language-specific parameter variation.