The Lexicon in Acquisition

Using data from many languages, this book looks at the hypotheses children draw on about possible word meanings.

Eve V. Clark (Author)

9780521484640, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 16 February 1995

320 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.47 kg

'A contribution of great interest; required reading for everyone in the field of language acquisition who is interested in the lexicon.' Lila R. Gleitman, University of Pennsylvania

Without words, children can't talk about people, places, things, actions, relations, or states, and they have no grammatical rules. Without words, there would be no sound structure, no word structure, and no syntax. The lexicon is central in language, and in language acquisition. Eve Clark argues for this centrality and for the general principles of conventionality and contrast at the core of language acquisition. She looks at the hypotheses children draw on about possible word meanings, and how they map their meanings on to forms. The book is unusual in dealing with data from a wide variety of languages, in its emphasis on the general principles children rely on as they analyse complex word forms, and in the broad perspective it takes on lexical acquisition.

1. The lexicon: words old and new
Part I. Lexical Acquisition: 2. Early lexical development
3. The mapping problem
4. Conventionality and contrast
5. Pragmatic principles and acquisition
6. Transparency and simplicity
7. Productivity
Part II. Case Studies of Lexical Innovation: 8. Words for things
9. More words for things
10. Words for agents and instruments
11. Words for actions
12. Words for undoing actions
Part III. Conclusion: 13. Issues for acquisition
Bibliography
Index of names
Index of subjects.

Subject Areas: Language acquisition [CFDC]