Language Development and Individual Differences

Brian J. Richards

ISBN 10: 0521362539 / ISBN 13: 9780521362535

Published by Cambridge University Press, 1990

About this Item

Druck auf Anfrage Neuware - Printed after ordering - This study examines the variation between children in early language development, focusing on their acquisition of the auxiliary verb. Learning auxiliary verbs and the syntactic and pragmatic functions with which they are associated is an essential component in the child's language development from an early stage. At the same time, children vary extensively in the age and stage at which auxiliaries emerge and also in the style and rate at which subsequent development takes place. Some aspects of this variation have been linked with the quality of interaction with the child's conversation partners, others with a tendency to acquire language holistically through unanalysed 'chunks'. Using data drawn both from the Bristol Longitudinal Study of Language Development and from independent case studies conducted in Wales, Dr Richards points to a number of important areas of variation between children, for example in sequence of syntactic development and in the relationship between pragmatic and syntactic factors, and raises a number of important methodological and theoretical issues, such as how to assess the level of unanalytical usage and how to measure real syntactic advance. By analysing relationships between input and auxiliary growth, the study attempts to resolve some of the inconsistencies in the results of previous studies which have included the auxiliary as a measure. The book will be of value to all those interested in language acquisition, whether linguists, psychologists, speech therapists or lecturers in nursery, infant and special education.

Seller Inventory # 9780521362535

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Language Development and Individual Differences
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication Date: 1990
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521362539
• ISBN 13: 9780521362535
• Binding: Buch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 235W x 157H x 21D millimeters 235 millimeters width by 157 millimeters height by 21 millimeters depth
• Weight: 596 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Brian Richards examines variation in children's early language development, with special emphasis on the auxiliary verb. He identifies significant variation both in the age and in the stage of emergence of auxiliaries, and in the rate, style and sequence of subsequent development. He relates some of these aspects to a tendency to acquire the auxiliary holistically, and others to the quality of interaction with the child's partners in conversation. This book will be valuable to all those interested in language acquisition, whether linguists, psychologists, or speech therapists.

Book Description

This study examines variation in children's early language development, focusing on the auxiliary verb. Dr Richards identifies significant variation in both the age and stage of emergence of auxiliaries, and in the rate, style and sequence of subsequent development. Some aspects are shown to be related to a tendency to acquire the auxiliary holistically, others to the quality of interaction with the child's conversation partners.