Description
Book SynopsisLanguage Acquisition: The Basics is an accessible introduction to the must-know issues in child language development. Covering key topics drawn from contemporary psychology, linguistics and neuroscience, readers are introduced to fundamental concepts, methods, controversies, and discoveries.
It follows the remarkable journey children take; from becoming sensitive to language before birth, to the time they string their first words together; from when they use language playfully, to when they tell stories, hold conversations, and share complex ideas. Using examples from 73 different languages, Ibbotson sets this development in a diverse cross-cultural context, as well as describing the universal psychological foundations that allow language to happen.
This book, which includes further reading suggestions in each chapter and a glossary of key terms, is the perfect easy-to-understand introductory text for students, teachers, clinicians or anyone with an inter
Trade Review
"Language Acquisition: The Basics is very balanced and well-written, the structure is clear and user-friendly, and I like the inclusion of different sign languages - an excellent book."
Cholë Marshall, Professor of Psychology, Language and Education at University College London, Editor-in-Chief of the journal First Language
"Language Acquisition: The Basics is very balanced and well-written, the structure is clear and user-friendly, and I like the inclusion of different sign languages - an excellent book."
-Cholë Marshall, Professor of Psychology, Language and Education at University College London, Editor-in-Chief of the journal First Language
“The book gives plenty of good examples from child language, not just from English. But most importantly, it explains the many different experimental methods used in acquisition research, as well as the cognitive, data-driven learning mechanisms at stake.”
-Heike Behrens Professor of Cognitive Linguistics and Language Acquisition Research, University of Basel and Editorial Board of The Journal of Child Language.
"I enjoyed reading it, a cool format!"
-Patricia Brooks, Professor of Psychology at the College of Staten Island, City University of New York, director of the Language Learning Laboratory
Table of Contents1. Making the Ordinary Extraordinary 2. Social and Cognitive Foundations of Communication 3. The Birth of Language 4. Understanding and Expressing Language 5. Putting Words Together 6. The Shape of Development 7. The Rules of Conversation and How to Break Them 8. What We Have Learned, What We Don’t Understand
