Born to Talk : An Introduction to Speech and Language Development

In this book, development is traced through real time with attention to how the various of language are integrated in a single child's journey to adult language. This book provides a comprehensive view of speech and language development written in a reader-friendly manner. In addition to a real-time presentation of speech and language development, the book contains information on theories of language development, cognitive development, the anatomy and physiology of speech, language diversity, and communication disorders. It also includes revised sections on African American English, Hispanic English, cultural diversity in the public schools, adolescent and adult language, and a much expanded section on fluency disorders. For parents, early childhood educators, speech pathologists, and interested others.

This is a very good introductory level book.
Robert Ackerman, East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania

The pedagogical features are one of the many things I really like about Born to Talk. The chapter objectives are great for giving students a mental outline before they start reading the chapter. The review questions at the end of the chapters hit on the key points and are a great study tool for students. The tables and charts supplement the text very nicely and highlight key points.
Ellen Stubbe Kester, The University of Texas at Austin

Highlights of the New Edition

• A new chapter, One Tongue – Two or More Languages, thoroughly addresses the issue of bilingualism, a topic often under represented in competing language development texts.
• Chapter 10 Speech and Language Disorders has been condensed to present information on phonological, voice and fluency disorders in a basic fashion.
• Four new tables have been added to visually supplement the text (Chs. 1, 6 and 8).
• References have been updated throughout the text, insuring currency and accuracy of information.
• Substantive changes have been incorporated to the contents of many chapters to keep the text up-to-date and competitive in the speech and language development discipline (Chs. 1-6 and 8).
• Chapter 8 Language Diversity: Regional, Social/Cultural, and Gender Differences now contains a section on Asian English, a new hot topic in language texts.
• Inclusion of information on the anatomy and physiology that supports speech, language, and hearing in human beings has been moved from the body of the book to a supportive role in the Appendix.