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Tuesday, October 23, 2012

What is Projection Problem?


Projection Problem 

Projection problem is the term used for the theory of “Poverty of the Stimulus” which has been given by Chomsky. “Poverty of the Stimulus” is the theory which claims that children cannot possibly arrive at a grammar of the native language on the basis of input alone. This means that input is degenerate and therefore cannot provide an inadequate data basis for setting the parameter of language. To solve this projection problem, the theory argues that children acquire first language so effortlessly because the crucial abstract principles of UG are available to them innately. UG consists of innate, abstract, linguistic principles, which govern what is possible in human languages, thereby helping to alleviate the learning problem created by poverty of the stimulus.