Blackwell Handbook of Language Development (Wiley Blackwell Handbooks of Developmental Psychology)

The Blackwell Handbook of Language Development provides a comprehensive treatment of the major topics and current concerns in the field; exploring the progress of 21st century research, its precursors, and promising research topics for the future. Provides comprehensive treatments of the major topics and current concerns in the field of language developmentExplores foundational and theoretical approachesFocuses on the 21st century's research into the areas of brain development, computational skills, bilingualism, education, and cross-cultural comparisonLooks at language development in infancy through early childhood, as well as atypical developmentConsiders the past work, present research, and promising topics for the future.Broad coverage makes this an excellent resource for graduate students in a variety of disciplines Cover......Page 1 Title Page......Page 5 Part 0......Page 7 Contributors......Page 10 Preface......Page 13 1 On the Development of the Field of Language Development......Page 15 The legacy of theories of syntactic formalism......Page 17 What constrains the acquisition of language?......Page 21 The active, social child......Page 22 Do we still need domain-specifi c constraints?......Page 24 Tasks for Future Research......Page 26 References......Page 28 Part I. Basic Foundations and Theoretical Approaches to Language Development......Page 31 Introduction......Page 33 2 The Neurodevelopmental Bases of Language......Page 35 Neurobiology of the Adult System......Page 36 Principles of neuroscience......Page 37 Neuroanatomical and neurophysiological evidence......Page 38 Brain indices of language processing in adults......Page 41 General Principles of Developmental Neuroscience......Page 46 What is the developmental basis of adult language organization in the brain?......Page 48 Which processes contributing to language are limited by sensitive/critical periods?......Page 50 What are the causes of developmental language disorders and delays?......Page 53 Conclusion......Page 54 References......Page 55 Input constraints......Page 60 Constraints on hypothesis formation: Universal Grammar......Page 61 Language Development: Continuity versus Maturation......Page 62 Example 1: Subjectless sentences......Page 63 Example 2: Structural conditions on pronoun interpretation......Page 64 Example 3: Movement......Page 65 A Problem for Continuity: Root Infinitives......Page 69 The sentence processor......Page 71 Processing and learnability......Page 73 Root infinitives revisited......Page 74 Movement in passive sentences......Page 75 Can computational limitations replace maturation?......Page 76 Summary and Conclusion......Page 77 References......Page 78 4 Domain-General Learning Capacities......Page 82 Historical Issues: Chomsky versus Skinner......Page 83 Speech Perception......Page 84 Speech Categories......Page 86 Word Segmentation......Page 87 Words and Meaning......Page 88 Syntax......Page 90 Challenges for Domain-General Accounts......Page 91 Conclusions......Page 93 References......Page 94 Starting Distinctions......Page 101 Discovering Word Meanings......Page 102 Social input regarding word meaning......Page 103 Meaning-relevant social responsiveness......Page 104 Discovering what people mean when they use words......Page 106 Nativist accounts background social input to linguistic structure......Page 109 Initial socio-pragmatic alternatives emphasize social support for language acquisition......Page 110 Contemporary socio-pragmatic accounts: Emphasizing children’s social understanding......Page 111 Empirical evidence for social capacities in syntax......Page 112 Wrapping Up: Social Factors Influence Language Learning at Many Levels of Analysis......Page 114 References......Page 115 Theories of the role of input......Page 121 Descriptions of the input......Page 124 Input and sequence of acquisition......Page 128 Input and speed of acquisition......Page 130 Influences other than input......Page 132 References......Page 134 7 The Emergence of Language: A Dynamical Systems Account......Page 142 Cognitivism: The Mind-as-Computer Metaphor......Page 143 Dynamic Systems Theory......Page 145 Catastrophe models......Page 147 Connectionist models......Page 148 Synergetics......Page 149 An epigenetic landscape: From babbling to first words......Page 151 Dyadic interactions and coupled dynamic complex systems......Page 154 Mental Representations: Dynamic Field Theory and Connectionism......Page 155 References......Page 156 Part II. Language Development in Infancy......Page 163 Introduction......Page 165 Speech Perception Development......Page 167 Effects of age and language input......Page 168 Variables influencing speech intake in infancy......Page 171 Biological influences on early speech production......Page 174 Experiential influences on speech production......Page 176 Speech Perception and Speech Production Development: Challenges for the Future......Page 180 Notes......Page 181 References......Page 182 9 Acquiring Linguistic Structure......Page 187 Sensitivity to phonetic features......Page 189 Sensitivity to segment sequences......Page 191 Sensitivity to properties affecting stress assignment......Page 192 Summary of sensitivity to phonological form......Page 193 Sensitivity to the order of word-like units......Page 194 Sensitivity to syntactic categories......Page 197 Summary of infants’ sensitivity to syntactic form......Page 198 What Early Sensitivity to Linguistic Form Tells Us about Language Development......Page 199 References......Page 201 A Brief Historical Review......Page 205 Types of Words in Infants’ Lexicon......Page 206 Object representations......Page 208 Object categories......Page 209 Linking words to objects......Page 210 Nature of Early Lexical Categories......Page 211 Cognitive Processes in Verb Learning......Page 212 Infants’ representations of verbs......Page 213 Infants’ understanding of motion events......Page 214 Infants’ understanding of the intentional nature of actions......Page 215 Learning Spatial Words......Page 216 Conclusions......Page 217 Note......Page 218 References......Page 219 A History of Syntactic Bootstrapping......Page 226 Syntactic bootstrapping is a procedure for constraining or focusing the meanings of words......Page 227 Syntactic bootstrapping is based on correspondences between syntax and semantics......Page 228 Syntactic bootstrapping operates in concert with the visual–spatial world, lexical constraints, and/or pragmatic information......Page 230 Preschoolers: Syntactic Bootstrappers Par Excellence......Page 231 Developmental issues......Page 233 Cross-linguistic issues......Page 235 The role of syntax in real-world word learning......Page 240 Conclusions......Page 241 References......Page 242 Part III. Language Development in Early Childhood......Page 247 Introduction......Page 249 12 Phonological Development......Page 252 Prelinguistic development......Page 253 From babble to words......Page 254 Phonological development beyond the first-word stage......Page 255 Lexical selection in early words......Page 256 Lexical–phonological patterns beyond the early-word period......Page 257 Developing a theory......Page 258 Structuralist theories......Page 259 Rule- and constraint-based theories......Page 260 Child-centered theories......Page 263 Biological theories......Page 265 Usage-based phonology......Page 266 Conclusion......Page 267 References......Page 268 13 Mechanisms of Word Learning......Page 271 Word learning is fast......Page 272 Word learning is inductive......Page 273 Input......Page 274 Syntax......Page 275 Lexical constraints......Page 276 Attention and learning mechanisms......Page 277 Conceptual biases......Page 278 Pragmatics......Page 279 How specific is word learning?......Page 280 What does the child bring to word learning?......Page 281 Emergentist model......Page 283 Concluding Remarks......Page 284 References......Page 286 14 The Abstract Nature of Syntactic Representations: Consequences for a Theory of Learning......Page 291 Syntactic Representations are Hierarchical......Page 295 Children’s knowledge of hierarchical structure......Page 297 Syntactic Relations are Defined over Hierarchical Representations......Page 298 Children’s knowledge of c-command......Page 301 Links between Cross-Linguistic Variability and Syntactic Acquisition......Page 308 Consequences for Learning......Page 311 References......Page 314 15 Conversational Understanding in Young Children......Page 318 Finding Appropriate Questions and Contexts to Determine Children’s Conceptual Competence: Research on Knowledge of the Appearance–Reality Distinction......Page 321 Conversational Understanding and Conceptual Competence: The Case of Cosmology......Page 323 Scalar Implicatures and the Development of Conversational Understanding......Page 325 Attention to Context in Research on Children’s Sentence Processing......Page 327 Characterizing Children’s Conceptual Knowledge and Conversational Competence......Page 330 Conclusion......Page 332 References......Page 333 16 Bilingual First Language Acquisition......Page 338 The Development of Two Languages Simultaneously......Page 339 Morphosyntax......Page 340 Lexicon......Page 341 Phonology......Page 342 Child Bilingual Code-Mixing......Page 344 Grammatical properties......Page 345 Functional properties......Page 346 Communicative Competence......Page 347 Conclusions......Page 349 References......Page 351 Part IV. Language Development after Early Childhood......Page 357 Introduction......Page 359 17 Developing Linguistic Knowledge and Language Use Across Adolescence......Page 361 Vocabulary development......Page 362 Syntactic development......Page 365 Linking Language Knowledge and Use......Page 368 Developing linguistic literacy......Page 370 Developing discourse abilities......Page 371 Concluding Remarks......Page 373 Notes......Page 374 References......Page 375 Importance of research on literacy in bilingual children......Page 382 Goal of the chapter......Page 383 Factors related to reading success......Page 384 Language interactions in bilingualism......Page 385 On interdependence and literacy development in bilingual children......Page 386 Profile effects in bilingualism and interdependence......Page 387 On the domain specificity of transfer between languages......Page 388 Possible bases of the profile effects......Page 390 Transfer of reading skills across languages with alphabetical writing systems......Page 392 The Balance of Evidence on Advantages of Bilingualism......Page 394 References......Page 395 19 Second Language Acquisition in Childhood......Page 401 Phonological Acquisition in the Second Language......Page 402 Lexical Acquisition in the Second Language......Page 403 Morphosyntactic Acquisition in the Second Language......Page 405 Child Second Language Learners Compared with Monolingual Age Peers......Page 407 Sources of Individual Differences in Child Second Language Acquisition......Page 408 Aptitude......Page 409 First language typology......Page 410 Socio-economic status......Page 411 Quality and context of second language input......Page 412 Language Shift and First Language Loss......Page 413 Summary......Page 414 References......Page 415 Part V. Atypical Language Development......Page 421 Introduction......Page 423 20 Children with Specific Language Impairment: Bridging the Genetic and Developmental Perspectives......Page 425 Definition of Specific Language Impairment......Page 426 History of Studies of SLI......Page 428 Clinical, Genetic, and Developmental Perspectives: A Need for Bridging......Page 429 Tracking the Developmental Course of SLI Relative to Normative Development: Delay versus Disruptions in Language Acquisition......Page 430 Delayed Onset: Late Talkers......Page 431 Delays in the Language Growth Trajectories of SLI......Page 432 Disruptions in the Language Growth of Children with SLI: Finiteness Marking......Page 433 Genetics of SLI: Focus on the Phenotype......Page 437 Putting it Together: A Maturational Perspective of Inherited Timing Mechanisms and Developmental Change......Page 438 References......Page 440 21 Atypical Language Development: Autism and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders......Page 446 Vocal and phonological development in autism......Page 447 Communicative and pragmatic development in autism......Page 448 Lexical development in autism......Page 449 Summary of language acquisition in autism......Page 450 Vocal and phonological development in Williams syndrome......Page 451 Lexical development in Williams syndrome......Page 452 Morphological and syntactic development in Williams syndrome......Page 453 Summary of language acquisition in Williams syndrome......Page 454 Vocal and phonological development in Down syndrome......Page 455 Communicative and pragmatic development in Down syndrome......Page 456 Lexical development in Down syndrome......Page 457 Morphological and syntactic development in Down syndrome......Page 458 Conclusions......Page 459 Note......Page 460 References......Page 461 22 Reading and Reading Disorders......Page 468 How Does Reading Develop?......Page 470 Does Reading Develop the Same Way in All Languages?......Page 471 Why Do Some Children Fail to Read?......Page 474 What Can Be Done to Support Children Who Fail to Read?......Page 475 Very early predictors of reading acquisition......Page 477 Early language predictors and early reading predictors (individual variation)......Page 478 Computer intervention......Page 479 Concluding Remarks......Page 480 References......Page 482 Author Index......Page 489 Subject Index......Page 496