First Language Acquisition

Fully updated throughout, this new edition provides a comprehensive exploration of how children acquire a first language effectively.

Eve V. Clark (Author)

9781316507605, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 4 March 2016

586 pages, 15 b/w illus. 87 tables
24.9 x 17.5 x 2.6 cm, 1.13 kg

'This is the textbook I've been looking for: an authoritative, beautifully written survey of the field written by one of the world's leading experts. It provides phenomenal coverage, ranging from classic issues to the latest state-of-the-art findings, in a well-organized structure that students and instructors alike will appreciate. The theoretical insights and charming examples bring the material to life and remind us of the astonishing significance of children's achievement.' Susan A. Gelman, Heinz Werner Distinguished University Professor, University of Michigan

How do young children learn language? When does this process start? What does language acquisition involve? Children are exposed to language from birth, surrounded by knowledgeable speakers who offer feedback and provide extensive practice every day. Through conversation and joint activities, children master the language being used around them. This fully revised third edition of Eve V. Clark's bestselling textbook offers comprehensive coverage of language acquisition, from a baby's first sounds to a child's increasing skill in negotiating, explaining and entertaining with language. This book, drawing together the most recent findings in the field, and illustrated with examples from a wide range of experimental and observational studies, including the author's own diary observations, presents an essential and comprehensive guide to first language acquisition. It will be fascinating reading for students of linguistics, developmental psychology and cognitive science.

1. Acquiring language
Part I. Getting Started: 2. In conversation with children
3. Starting on language: perception
4. Early words
5. Sounds in words: production
6. Words and meanings
Part II. Constructions and Meanings: 7. First combinations, first constructions
8. Modulating word meanings
9. Adding complexity within clauses
10. Combining clauses: more complex constructions
11. Constructing words
Part III. Using Language: 12. Honing conversational skills
13. Doing things with language
14. Two languages at a time
Part IV. Process in Acquisition: 15. Specialization for language
16. Acquisition and change.

Subject Areas: Child & developmental psychology [JMC], Psycholinguistics [CFD], Linguistics [CF]