A Minimalist Study of the Grammatical Requirements of Functional Heads in Second Language Learning

Scholarships in the past have dealt on the lexical categories and their heads as the core of the grammar of human language. It was believed that to learn the grammar of a new language was to learn the lexical categories and their various heads in the language. This paper, premised on Ouhalla’s(2004) assertion that language variation is probably to a large extent, if not exclusively, determined by functional categories, set out to investigate the place of functional categories in the learning of a second language. The study adopted Pollock’s (1989) Split Infl Hypothesis to conclude that the major functional categories such as NegP, TP, AgrP, DP and ComPand their heads have some parametric differences which are implicated in linguistic variation and second language learning. Findings reveal that while NegP and DP are head-first in English, they are head last in Ibibio. TP andAgrP are head-last in English but head-first in Ibibio. ComP is head-first in both languages. These differences in the head position of functional categories in English and Ibibio show some parametric differences that may be implicated in the learning of English as a second language.

Keywords: Minimalist Grammatical Requirements Functional Heads Second Language

Authors

• Otobong Umoh
  Department of English and Literary Studies,
  University of Calabar, Nigeria
  umohotobongarchibong@yahoo.com
• Susan Udoka, PhD
  Department of English, Akwa Ibom State University,
  Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria