Language Acquisition (MIT Press): The Growth of Grammar (Bradford Book) - Softcover

Guasti, Maria Teresa

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0262572206 ISBN 13: 9780262572200

Publisher: MIT Press, 2004

Synopsis

This text provides a comprehensive introduction to current thinking on language acquisition. Following an introductory chapter that discusses the foundations of linguistic inquiry, the book covers the acquisition of specific aspects of language from birth to about age 6. Topics include the language abilities of newborns, the acquisition of phonological properties of language, the lexicon, syntax, pronoun and sentence interpretation, control structures, specific language impairments, and the relationship between language and other cognitive functions.

At the conclusion of each chapter are a summary of the material covered, a list of keywords, study questions, and exercises. The book, which adopts the perspective of Chomskyan Universal Generative Grammar throughout, assumes a familiarity with basic concepts of linguistic theory.

About this title

About the Author:

Maria Teresa Guasti is Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Milan-Bicocca.

Review:

""One of the greatest assets of this is that it vividly shows the interplay of hypothesis-construction and fact-finding in the research on acquisition.... [It} will convince many readers that theoretically inspired research in language acquisition is today one of the liveliest and most exciting research paradigms within cognitive science."

About this edition

• Publisher: MIT Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0262572206
• ISBN 13: 9780262572200
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 496