Child Language: Acquisition and Growth

ISBN-13: 9780521449229 / Angielski / Miękka / 2006 / 410 str.

Barbara Lust

Opis

Exploring language development from birth, this accessible textbook introduces the field of child language acquisition, establishing key theoretical debates. It considers what characteristics of the human mind make it possible to acquire language and to what extent acquisition is biologically programmed and influenced by our environment. It inquires as to what makes second language learning (in adulthood) different from first language acquisition; and whether the specific stages in language development are universal across languages. It will be a key text for courses in linguistics, developmental psychology and cognitive science.

Recenzje

'… this glimpse into a different scientific tradition, coupled with the opportunity to grasp the complexity of this uniquely human skill made this book well worth reading…' Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Spis treści

1. The growth of language; 2. What is acquired?; 3. What is the problem of language acquisition?; 4. How we can construct a theory of language acquisition; 5. Brain and language development; 6. The nature of nurture; 7. How can we tell what children know?: methods for the study of language acquisition; 8. The acquisition of phonology; 9. The acquisition of syntax; 10. The acquisition of semantics; 11. On the nature of language growth; 12. Conclusions: towards an integrated theory of language acquisition.