Beyond generative geneticism: Rethinking language acquisition from a developmentalist point of view

Despite a strong commitment to the aim of explaining how children attain the knowledge of their mother tongue, it is far from obvious that generative grammarians have really achieved this ambitious goal. This paper offers an interpretation of this circumstance by critically examining Principles and Parameters Theory from a developmentalist point of view. Some proposals are also offered in order to incorporate into the research agenda of Generative Grammar the understanding of how children really develop as grammatical experts.