Editing Universal Grammar (section)

=== Key Principles of Universal Grammar ===
Universal Grammar is not a specific grammar that applies to all languages in the same way, but rather a set of abstract principles and constraints that apply to all human languages. These principles form the foundation upon which individual languages build their unique syntactic and grammatical structures.

* '''Principles and Parameters''': Chomsky's theory includes the idea that Universal Grammar consists of a set of principles that are universal to all languages (such as the existence of nouns and verbs) and parameters that can vary between languages (such as the order of words in a sentence). When a child is exposed to a particular language, their brain "sets" the parameters according to the specific rules of that language, enabling them to construct and understand sentences in that language.

* '''The Poverty of the Stimulus''': One of the central arguments for Universal Grammar is the "poverty of the stimulus" argument, which suggests that the linguistic input children receive is too limited and too flawed to account for the rich and complex grammatical knowledge they acquire. This implies that much of this knowledge must come from an [[Innate Grammatical Framework]].

* '''Recursion''': Another key feature often associated with Universal Grammar is recursion, the ability to embed structures within similar structures (e.g., a sentence within a sentence). Chomsky argued that recursion is a universal feature of human language, allowing for the infinite creativity of language.