Parametric Adjustments by Children Acquiring Urdu Language

Abstract

The present research lies in the field of language acquisition. Chomsky’s principles and parameters (1981, 1986) serve as the theoretical framework for this study. The research takes acquisition of Urdu as a case. The data for the study comprises of common recorded utterances produced by children between the ages of 24-30 months, acquiring Urdu language. The study explores the parametric settings and adjustments in these utterances. The results show that children remained consistent with non-null subject, head last principle while wh fronting was rarely observed in these utterances. Knowledge of the parametric settings can be helpful for the language teachers in predicting difficulties in second language acquisition. It offers a plausible solution to the logical problem of language acquisition.