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    Carmelics

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    Made withinDC&Austin
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    Home/Original/inverse
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    Inverse View

    It is not the case that If the specific structural constraints UG posits vary substantially across languages and lack the exceptionless universality the theory requires, then innateness of those particular constraints is not warranted by the linguistic data.

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    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.Variation in surface structures doesn't refute UG: innate principles can generate diverse outputs through parametric differences—variation is predicted, not falsifying.
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    • 2.Absence of evidence for specific constraints isn't evidence of absence; underdeveloped descriptive linguistics may obscure hidden universals we haven't yet identified.
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    • 3.Innateness concerns underlying competence, not surface performance; constraints can be innate while appearing non-universal due to interaction with language use and culture.
      ?

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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Innateness claims require empirical evidence of universal structural properties across all natural languages to distinguish innate from learned constraints.
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    • 2.If cross-linguistic variation contradicts a theory's predictions, that theory loses explanatory power and empirical support for its core mechanisms.
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    • 3.Universal principles without exceptionless application fail the falsifiability criterion needed to warrant strong biological claims about human cognition.
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