Understanding Child Language Acquisition (Understanding Language)

For a full list of titles in the Understanding Language series, please visit https://www.routledge.com/Understanding-Language/book-series/ULAN Taking an accessible and cross-linguistic approach, Understanding Child Language Acquisition introduces readers to the most important research on child language acquisition over the last fifty years, as well as to some of the most influential theories in the field. Rather than just describing what children can do at different ages Rowland explains why these research findings are important and what they tell us about how children acquire language. Key features include: • Cross-linguistic analysis of how language acquisition differs between languages • A chapter on how multilingual children acquire several languages at once • Exercises to test comprehension • Chapters organised around key questions that summarise the critical issues posed by researchers in the field, with summaries at the end • Further reading suggestions to broaden understanding of the subject With its particular focus on outlining key similarities and differences across languages and what this cross-linguistic variation means for our ideas about language acquisition, Understanding Child Language Acquisition forms a comprehensive introduction to the subject for students of linguistics, psychology and speech and language therapy. Students and instructors will benefit from the comprehensive companion website that includes a students’ section featuring interactive comprehension exercises, extension activities, chapter recaps and answers to the exercises within the book. Material for instructors includes sample essay questions, answers to the extension activities for students and a Powerpoint including all the figures from the book. Companion website: https://routledgetextbooks.com/textbooks/\_author/rowland/ Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents List of figures and tables Acknowledgements Preface 1. Introduction to language acquisition 1.1 The issue 1.2 What is language? 1.2.1 Language or languages? 1.2.2 What makes a language? 1.3 Humans and other animals 1.3.1 Can we teach language to animals? 1.3.2 Animal communication systems 1.3.3 Shared aspects of language 1.4 Getting the conditions right 1.4.1 The language centres of the brain 1.4.2 What else might be built into the human brain? 1.4.3 The right environment 1.5 Chapter summary 1.6 Suggested reading 1.7 Suggested reading (advanced level) 1.8 Useful websites 1.9 Comprehension check 2. The sounds of language 2.1 The issue 2.2 Speech perception: identifying the meaningful sounds of our language 2.2.1 The motor theory of speech perception 2.2.2 The universal theory (maintenance and loss) 2.2.3 Attunement theory: native language magnet theory-expanded (NLM-e) 2.3 How do we learn to segment the speech stream? 2.3.1 Prosodic cues 2.3.2 Phonotactic regularities 2.3.3 Allophonic variation 2.3.4 Isolated words 2.3.5 Transitional probabilities 2.3.6 A multiple cues approach 2.4 Speech production: learning to produce the meaningful sounds of our language 2.4.1 Mispronunciation due to misperception: the ‘mushy mouth–mushy ear’ hypothesis 2.4.2 Articulatory constraints on production 2.4.3 Universal constraints: Jakobson’s maturational theory 2.4.4 Template theory 2.5 Chapter summary 2.6 Suggested reading 2.7 Suggested reading (advanced level) 2.8 Comprehension check 3. Learning the meaning of words 3.1 The issue 3.1.1 The reference problem 3.1.2 The extension problem 3.2 Constraints theory part I: the role of innate constraints 3.2.1 The evidence for and against constraints theory 3.3 Constraints theory part II: the developmental lexical principles framework 3.3.1 The evidence for and against developmental lexical principles 3.4 Other routes to word learning 3.4.1 The social-pragmatic account 3.4.1.1 Evidence for and against the social-pragmatic account 3.4.2 The attentional learning account 3.4.2.1 Evidence for and against the attentional learning account 3.5 The role of syntax: the syntactic bootstrapping account 3.5.1 Evidence for and against syntactic bootstrapping 3.6 The integration: the emergentist coalition model (ECM) 3.6.1 Evidence for and against the ECM 3.7 Chapter summary 3.8 Suggested reading 3.9 Suggested reading (advanced level) 3.10 Comprehension check 4. Acquiring syntax 4.1 The issue 4.1.1 The three challenges 4.2 Nativist theories of syntax acquisition 4.2.1 Semantic bootstrapping theory 4.2.1.1 Evidence for and against semantic bootstrapping 4.2.2 Principles and parameters theories 4.2.2.1 Explanations for errors within the principles and parameters framework 4.2.2.2 The problem of lexical specificity in children’s early utterances 4.3 Constructivist theories of syntactic development 4.3.1 Semantic-distributional analysis 4.3.1.1 Evidence for and against semantic-distributional analysis 4.3.2 The usage-based model 4.3.2.1 Evidence for and against the usage-based model 4.4 How do children learn to constrain their productivity? 4.4.1 Solution I: negative evidence 4.4.2 Solution II: the semantic verb class hypothesis (Pinker, 1989) 4.4.3 Solution III: the role of frequency (entrenchment and pre-emption) 4.5 Chapter summary 4.6 Suggested reading 4.7 Suggested reading (advanced level) 4.8 Comprehension check 5. Acquiring morphology 5.1 The issue 5.2 What is inflectional morphology? 5.3 How do children learn their language’s inflectional system? 5.4 Nativist accounts I: maturational theories 5.4.1 Evidence for and against the ATOM 5.5 Nativist accounts II: probabilistic parameter setting 5.5.1 Evidence for and against the VLM 5.6 Constructivist theories 5.6.1 Evidence for and against constructivism 5.7 How do we store and produce inflections? 5.7.1 The over-regularisation error 5.7.2 The dual route model 5.7.2.1 Evidence for and against the dual route model 5.7.3 Single route accounts: analogy not rules 5.7.3.1 Evidence for and against single route accounts 5.8 Chapter summary 5.9 Suggested reading 5.10 Suggested reading (advanced level) 5.11 Comprehension check 6. Learning to communicate 6.1 The issue 6.2 Communication without words 6.2.1 Infants, communicative intent and joint attention 6.2.2 Understanding intentions and imitating actions 6.2.3 The role of early communicative abilities in language learning 6.3 Communicating with language 6.3.1 Choosing what to say I: scalar implicature 6.3.2 Choosing what to say II: using reference words 6.3.3 Learning how to take turns 6.4 Communicative Impairments 6.4.1 Children with autism 6.4.2 Pragmatic language impairment 6.5 Chapter summary 6.6 Suggested reading 6.7 Suggested reading (advanced level) 6.8 Comprehension check 7. Multilingual language acquisition 7.1 The issue 7.2 One system or two? 7.2.1 Language-mixing: evidence for the unitary language hypothesis? 7.2.2 Two language systems: implications for bilingual development 7.2.2.1 Learning the grammar of two languages: separate or interdependent? 7.2.2.2 Learning the sounds of two languages: separate or interdependent? 7.3 Predictors of successful bilingualism 7.3.1 The effect of age of acquisition 7.3.1.1 The case of international adoptees 7.3.2 The effect of the input 7.3.3 The effect of attitude, beliefs and behaviour 7.4 Effect of bilingualism on cognitive development 7.4.1 Control of attention 7.4.2 Metalinguistic awareness 7.4.3 Language proficiency and fluency 7.5 Chapter summary 7.6 Suggested reading 7.7 Suggested reading (advanced level) 7.8 Comprehension check 8. Explaining individual variation 8.1 The issue 8.2 Individual variation 8.2.1 Differences in the rate of acquisition 8.2.2 Do individual differences have a genetic basis? 8.2.3 The role of the environment in explaining individual variation 8.2.4 Characteristics of the child and their role in individual variation 8.3 Extraordinary language acquisition 8.3.1 Feral and neglected children 8.3.2 How do deaf children learn language? 8.4 The relationship between language and cognitive impairment 8.4.1 Who are children with specific language impairment (SLI)? 8.4.2 Theories of SLI: evidence for a dissociation between language andcognition? 8.4.2.1 A language-specific deficit? The extended optional infinitive stage 8.4.2.2 A processing deficit? I: the surface account 8.4.2.3 A processing deficit? II: the temporal processing deficit account 8.4.3 Evidence from genetics: a gene for language? 8.5 Chapter summary 8.6 Suggested reading 8.7 Suggested reading (advanced level) 8.8 Useful websites 8.9 Comprehension check 9. The search for language universals 9.1 The issue 9.2 Language variation and language universals 9.3 Chomsky’s Universal Grammar 9.3.1 What is in Universal Grammar? 9.3.2 T he evidence for universals I: cross-language comparisons 9.3.3 The evidence for universals II: pidgins and Creoles 9.3.4 The evidence for universals III: home-sign 9.3.5 The evidence for universals IV: Nicaraguan Sign Language 9.4 The nature of the language learning mechanism 9.4.1 A specialised linguistic ‘toolkit’ 9.4.2 The Language Faculty Broad and Narrow 9.4.3 ‘A new machine built out of old parts’ 9.5 Chapter summary 9.6 Suggested reading 9.7 Suggested reading (advanced level) 9.8 Useful websites 9.9 Comprehension check References Index Taking An Accessible And Cross-linguistic Approach, Understanding Child Language Acquisition Introduces Readers To The Most Important Research On Child Language Acquisition Over The Last Fifty Years, As Well As To Some Of The Most Influential Theories In The Field. Rather Than Just Describing What Children Can Do At Different Ages Rowland Explains Why These Research Findings Are Important And What They Tell Us About How Children Acquire Language. Key Features Include: Cross-linguistic Analysis Of How Language Acquisition Differs Between Languages A Chapter On How Multilingual Children Acquire Several Languages At Once Exercises To Test Comprehension Chapters Organised Around Key Questions That Summarise The Critical Issues Posed By Researchers In The Field, With Summaries At The End Further Reading Suggestions To Broaden Understanding Of The Subject With Its Particular Focus On Outlining Key Similarities And Differences Across Languages And What This Cross-linguistic Variation Means For Our Ideas About Language Acquisition, Understanding Child Language Acquisition Forms A Comprehensive Introduction To The Subject For Students Of Linguistics, Psychology And Speech And Language Therapy. Students And Instructors Will Benefit From The Comprehensive Companion Website That Includes A Students’ Section Featuring Interactive Comprehension Exercises, Extension Activities, Chapter Recaps And Answers To The Exercises Within The Book. Material For Instructors Includes Sample Essay Questions, Answers To The Extension Activities For Students And A Powerpoint Including All The Figures From The Book. Www.routledge.com/cw/rowland Taking an accessible and cross-linguistic approach, Understanding Child Language Acquisition introduces readers to the most important research on child language acquisition over the last fifty years, as well as to some of the most influential theories in the field. Rather than just describing what children can do at different ages Rowland explains why these research findings are important and what they tell us about how children acquire language. Key features With its particular focus on outlining key similarities and differences across languages and what this cross-linguistic variation means for our ideas about language acquisition, Understanding Child Language Acquisition forms a comprehensive introduction to the subject for students of linguistics, psychology and speech and language therapy. Students and instructors will benefit from the comprehensive companion website that includes a students section featuring interactive comprehension exercises, extension activities, chapter recaps and answers to the exercises within the book. Material for instructors includes sample essay questions, answers to the extension activities for students and a Powerpoint including all the figures from the book. (http://www.routledge.com/cw/rowland) www.routledge.com/cw/rowland