Inter language and language universals

Abstract

The field of interlanguage studies has made significant headway in recent years by seeking to identify the direction and nature of learners' development towards self-perceived target language norms. The work has included analyses of learner language systematicity, variability and complex transfer phenomena. The present contribution offers a discussion of the role of language universals in this development, with the intention of extending insights into interlanguage based on empirical research, observations of language typology and linguistic theory. The potential role of related principles for language learning and pedagogy is also considered.