Language Evolution and Computation Bibliography

This chapter focuses on linguistic universals embodied in Universal Grammar (UG), a characterization of the innate properties of the language faculty. Approaching language universals from a minimalist perspective, it begins by contrasting I-universals (innate properties of UG) with E-universals (universals in the Greenbergian tradition). It argues that even if every language displayed some property P, it would not imply that P is an I-universal, whereas P would be considered an E-universal. The chapter considers the relative importance of the following three factors in accounting for I-universals: (a) genetic endowment, (b) experience, and (c) language-independent principles. It concludes that the minimalist perspective suggests that I-universalsathe key properties of UGamay not be genetically encoded but instead may derive from language-independent principles of good design.