The accuracy of UG

When reading Carnie's textbook, I found it hard to understand all the rules of syntax. However, I was very intrigued by the idea of UG and the arguments that agreed to it.

Firstly, Carnie points out at the beginning that we use descriptive language to listen to what sounds more aesthetically pleasing to the ear. Even after years of speaking our native language, we don’t tend to think about grammatical rules when we speak. This agrees with the idea of UG because it explains how our minds have innate auditory grammar skills that subconsciously help us form grammatically correct sentences. Another interesting and very accurate point is that native English speakers can hear errors but rarely explain why sentences are wrong. This relates to the grammatically judgment task, where a native speaker is able to read sentences and judges whether it is well, marginally, or ill formed. I found these points to be very relatable and realized that our brains have subconscious knowledge on language. Although we don't necessarily have the specific logistics and grammatical rules implanted, there is definitely a pre-existing knowledge about syntax and grammar that helps us when forming and listening to proper sentences.

As Carnie transitions into the debate of learning vs acquiring language, he continues to prove the accuracy of UG. He states that language is acquired and being immersed in an environment of language is better than consciously teaching it. He argues that parents correct context more than utterances because it is more effective for a child to learn that way. parents often don’t succeed when trying to “teach” their kids language, so when children are able to pick up language subconsciously and build a foundation from just listening, this shows how our subconscious mind overrules our conscious mind when acquiring language. 

The strongest evidence behind UG is how children can correct themselves when immersed in an environment of language. Ever hear a kid say "Daddy go" or "I eated?" Most likely, the child has never heard these statements from their parents, but they use their knowledge of grammar to form what they believe is grammatically correct. As they grow up to learn idiomatic errors in their native language, they correct themselves and are able to hear and compare their speech to form their set of grammatical rules. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the notion of UG and reading the points that validated the accuracy of UG.