ABSTRACT
This chapter has to do with universal grammar (UG), its role in second-language acquisition (SLA) research, and the measurement of UG principles as constructs in SLA research. Specifically, I discuss parameter-based approaches to SLA-theory construction that rely on principles from Government and Binding (GB) theory. Because my chapter deals with theory construction rather than theory evaluation—and so assumes that SLA does not yet have any full-fledged theories—I want to call attention to a few troublesome theoretical, methodological, and empirical problems that parameter models will have to work out.
