Subjacency Access by Afghan Learners of English

Abstract

Abstract-The present study aimed to investigate the question of availability of universal grammar (UG) to Afghan learners of English in terms of Subjacency Condition. To achieve this goal, two groups of Afghan learners of English were classified as high and low in line with a General Proficiency Test (GPT). The participants were then tested on Subjacency Condition in English. The performance of the high group was much better than that of the low group. However, compared with the performance of the native speakers of English, the high group was ranked lower. Considering the level of Subjacency availability, the cards are stacked in favor of a partial access to UG by English foreign language (EFL) learners.