(b) explaining why grammars have the properties they do and how chil-
dren come to acquire them in such a short period of time (the principle
of explanatory adequacy).
The major versions of generative theory (all associated with the pioneering
work of the linguist Noam Chomsky) that have influenced the fields of first
and second language acquisition have been:
transformational grammar(also transformational-generative grammar,
TG, generative-transformational grammar), an early version of the theory
that emphasized the relationships among sentences that can be seen as
transformsor transformations of each other, for example the relationships
among simple active declarative sentences (e.g. He went to the store), nega-
tive sentences (He didn’t go to the store), and questions (Did he go to the
store?). Such relationships can be accounted for by transformational rules.
The Standard Theory(also Aspects Model) proposed in the mid-1960s,
which specified a base componentthat produces or generates basic syntactic
structures called deep structures; a transformational componentthat changes
or transforms those basic structures into sentences called surface structures;
a phonological component, which gives sentences a phonetic representa-
tion (see generative phonology) so that they can be pronounced; and
a semantic component, which deals with the meaning of sentences (see
interpretive semantics).
government/binding theory, which dominated formally orientated
work in first and second language acquisition during the 1980s and 1990s.
minimalism, a version of generative theory developed in the late 1990s.generative-transformational grammar n
see generative grammar, generative theory
generic adj
in grammar, a reference to sentences, such as (in English) Elephants like
peanutsor The elephant likes peanutsor An elephant likes peanuts, that
have a generic meaning, that is, they are meant to apply to all elephants or
elephants in general.
generic reference n
a type of reference which is used to refer to a class of objects or things,
rather than to a specific member of a class. For example in English:
specific reference generic reference
The birdis sick. A tiger is a dangerous animal.
The birdsare sick. Tigersare dangerous animals.
There is a birdin the cage. The tigeris a dangerous animal.
generic reference