The Units Of Language Acquisition

The study of language acquisition has become a center of scientific inquiry into the nature of the human mind. The result is a windfall of new information about language, about learning, and about children themselves. In Language Acquisition Jill and Peter de Villiers provide a lively introduction to this fast-growing field. Their book deals centrally with the way the child acquires the sounds, meanings, and syntax of his language, and the way he learns to use his language to communicate with others. In discussing these issues, the de Villiers provide a clear and insightful treatment of the classic questions about language acquisition: Does the child show a genetic predisposition for speech, or grammar, or semantics which makes him uniquely able to learn human language? What kinds of learning are involved in acquiring language and what kinds of experience with a language are necessary to support such learning? Is there a critical period during the child's development which is optimal for language acquisition? And what kind of psychological disabilities underlie the failure to acquire language?

Continuing the tradition of this series, which has become a standard reference work in language acquisition, Volume 4 contains chapters on three additional languages/language groups--Finnish, Greek, and Korean. The chapters are selective, critical reviews rather than exhaustive summaries of the course of development of each language. Authors approach the language in question as a case study in a potential crosslinguistic typology of acquisitional problems, considering those data which contribute to issues of general theoretical concern in developmental psycholinguistics and linguistic theory. Each chapter, therefore, provides the following: * Grammatical Sketch of Language. Brief grammatical sketch of the language or language group, presenting those linguistic facts which are relevant to the developmental analysis. * Sources of Evidence. Summary of basic sources of evidence, characterizing methods of gathering data, and listing key references. * Overall Course of Development. Brief summary of the overall course of development in the language or language group, giving an idea of the general problems posed to the child in acquiring a language of this type, summarizing typical errors, domains of relatively error-free acquisition, and the timing of acquisition--areas of the grammar that show relatively precocious or delayed development in crosslinguistic perspective. * Data. Specific developmental aspects of the language examined in depth, depending on each individual language and available acquisition data. * Conclusions. An interpretive summary of theoretical points raised above, attending to general principles of language development and linguistic organization suggested by the study of a language of this type, plus comparisons with development of other languages.

Language addressed to children, or 'Baby Talk', became the subject of research interest thirty years ago. Since then, the linguistic environment of infants and toddlers has been widely studied. Input and Interaction in Language Acquisition is an up-to-date statement of the facts and controversies surrounding 'Baby Talk', its nature and likely effects. With contributions from leading linguists and psychologists, it explores language acquisition in different cultures and family contexts, in typical and atypical learners, and in second and foreign language learners. It is designed as a sequel to the now famous Talking to Children, edited by Catherine Snow and Charles Ferguson, and Professor Snow here provides an introduction, comparing issues of importance in the field today with the previous concerns of researchers.

This book offers a comprehensive study of language development. The contributors, all well-known psychologists, represent a very broad range of theoretical persuasion. Each chapter summarises research on a major problem and relates results to fundamental questions about how children acquire language. Among the issues treated are the role of input in acquisition, the processes of underlying lexical and semantic development, the implications of cross-linguistic research for acquisition theory, the pros and cons of functionalist approaches to language learning and the psychological consequences of a major new formal theory of language learning. In their long and thoughtful introduction, the editors demonstrate the complementarity of studies focused on seemingly separate problems and identify apparent trends, both theoretical and methodological. Taken together, these chapters provide an entry point into an increasingly complex field for the growing number of researchers and students in psychology and linguistics whose work requires an understanding of the child's first steps in language.

The remarkable way in which young children acquire language has long fascinated linguists and developmental psychologists alike. Language is a skill that we have essentially mastered by the age of three, and with incredible ease and speed, despite the complexity of the task. This accessible textbook introduces the field of child language acquisition, exploring language development from birth. Setting out the key theoretical debates, it considers questions such as what characteristics of the human mind make it possible to acquire language; how far acquisition is biologically programmed and how far it is influenced by our environment; what makes second language learning (in adulthood) different from first language acquisition; and whether the specific stages in language development are universal across languages. Clear and comprehensive, it is set to become a key text for all courses in child language acquisition, within linguistics, developmental psychology and cognitive science.