ABSTRACT
This chapter looks specifically at the role of Universal Grammar (UG) in second language development. Even if UG is only supposed to play a role in the development of certain areas of the language, it deserves special treatment by virtue of the debate that it has provoked and continues to provoke in the 1990s. The discussion will inevitably involve more attention to technicalities and the reader may care to consult elsewhere for additional information (see Flynn 1986, Liceras 1986, Cook 1988, 1993, White 1990, Eubank 1991 for fuller treatments of the issue). What will develop during the course of this chapter is a recasting of the basic L2 issues raised in the 1970s in new forms, drawing on advances in linguistics, and specifically Chomskyan linguistics.
