摘要
To reveal invariant properties of human languages is one of the central goals of modern generative grammar.Hierarchical feature of sentence construction, one of the key notions in this regard, reflects one of the most widely accepted invariant properties of human languages. However,researchers also challenge this point and argue that languages differ fundamentally from one another so that it is very hard to find any single structural property which they share. This paper revisits the evidence for the hierarchical structure of sentences from the principle of structure dependence in first and second language acquisition and argues that the recognition of hierarchical structure of sentences is essential to any linguistic exploration.
To reveal invariant properties of human languages is one of the central goals of modern generative grammar.Hierarchical feature of sentence construction, one of the key notions in this regard, reflects one of the most widely accepted invariant properties of human languages. However,researchers also challenge this point and argue that languages differ fundamentally from one another so that it is very hard to find any single structural property which they share. This paper revisits the evidence for the hierarchical structure of sentences from the principle of structure dependence in first and second language acquisition and argues that the recognition of hierarchical structure of sentences is essential to any linguistic exploration.
