This book combines a vast collection of data on phonological acquisition with close attention to Optimality Theory. It blends the studies of linguistics, psycholinguistics, and speech-language pathology in reference to phonological development. It also contains a step-by-step evaluation of competing theories while presenting a complete view of non-linear phonology, including adult grammar, psychological processing, first and second language acquisition, and inter-generational language changes. The authors focus on speech production rather than perception, emphasizing data from the period of real words. The many tables and phonological trees help to make this timely and useful study accessible to students and professionals alike. Among its key features it: addresses the full range of phonological patterns observed in children's speech; surveys patterns of development in children's speech; and provides the only existing single framework for children's phonological development.
"The Handbook of Phonological Development represents the future of linguistics, psycholinguistics, and speech sciences. It is a compelling synthesis of phonological theory and the learning and processing mechanisms hypothesized in modern cognitive science."
Gary S. Dell, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
"This book should be read by anyone interested in how children learn phonology."
Laurence B. Leonard, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
"Bernhardt and Stemberger's "Handbook of Phonological Development" offers an excellent, scholarly tutorial on constraint-based nonlinear phonology and its application to phonlogical development."
---Mary C. Berni, University of Memphis, JOURNAL OF SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY AND AUDIOLOGY, 2006