1. In the nature-nurture debate as it applies to language acquisition, Chomsky emphasizes ______.

1. the ‘harmony and mutual dependence’ of nature and nurture
2. the fundamental antagonism of nature and nurture
3. the importance of nature over nurture
4. the importance of nurture over nature

2. The concept of Universal Grammar embodies the idea that ______.

1. the child is born with an adult-like knowledge of grammar
2. the child acquires Universal Grammar regardless of their native language
3. certain aspects of grammar are universally acquired
4. certain aspects of grammar are innate

3. For Chomsky, a trait is innate if its development does not involve ______.

1. extraction of information from the environment
2. exposure to information in the environment
3. extraction of Universal Grammar from the environment
4. exposure to Universal grammar in the environment

4. The distinction between core and periphery in Universal Grammar captures the idea that ______.

1. some languages have core Universal Grammar, while others have peripheral Universal Grammar
2. core Universal Grammar is innate while peripheral Universal Grammar is acquired
3. some aspects of grammar are universal (core) while others are idiosyncratic to particular languages (periphery)
4. some aspects of grammar are central to Universal Grammar (core), while others are on the edge (periphery)

5. Parameters of variation account for ______.

1. variety among different languages on the periphery
2. variety among different languages as expressed within Universal Grammar
3. different kinds of Universal Grammar across the world’s languages
4. innate variation among children in their acquisition of Universal Grammar

6. Arguments in support of Universal Grammar include ______.

1. speed and ease of acquisition
2. speed and complexity of acquisition
3. no teaching despite extensive exposure to linguistic input
4. no teaching despite the complexity of the linguistic input

7. Chomsky (1975) argues that the child is exposed to a very limited sample of language because ______.

1. parents in some cultures do not talk to their children
2. the child uses a finite sample of language to acquire a finite set of rules
3. there is a finite number of possible sentences
4. there is an infinite number of possible sentences

8. Young children could not be taught language directly because ______.

1. they lack the necessary metalinguistic skills
2. parents lack the necessary metalinguistic skills
3. most parents have not been trained in language teaching
4. CDS has no effect on metalinguistic skills

9. With respect to speed of acquisition, language is acquired more quickly than ______.

1. visual acuity
2. object permanence
3. conservation
4. communication            

10. The poverty of the stimulus argument is based on the assumption that the child ______.

1. cannot learn language from an impoverished linguistic stimulus
2. cannot acquire Universal Grammar from an impoverished linguistic stimulus
3. knows more about language than other cognitive capacities
4. knows more about language than could be learned from experience

11. The poverty of the stimulus argument is based, in part, on assumptions about ______.

1. degenerate input, negative evidence and parameters of variation
2. degenerate input, negative evidence and structure dependence
3. negative evidence, structure dependence and core versus periphery
4. negative evidence, structure dependence and Plato’s problem

12. All linguistic rules are structure dependent because they apply to ______.

1. the linear order of sentence elements
2. structures like the subject of a sentence
3. the first or second copula verb in a sentence
4. the first or second auxiliary verb in a sentence

13. Examination of millions of words of Child Directed Speech by MacWhinney (2004) reveals that ______.

1. examples of structure dependence are extremely rare
2. examples of complex questions are extremely rare
3. structure dependence is only used by adults
4. complex questions are only used by adults

14. Crain and Nakayama (1987) found that children aged 3–5 years never produced errors like ______.

1. Is the boy who being kissed by his mother happy?
2. Is the boy who is being kissed by his mother is happy?
3. Is the boy who being kissed by his mother is happy?
4. Is the boy is being kissed by his mother happy?

15. Recently, it has been proposed that Universal Grammar contains just one property, which is ______.

1. redaction
2. revision
3. reversion
4. recursion