Language Acquisition, second edition: The Growth of Grammar

by Maria Teresa Guasti

Overview

The new edition of a comprehensive introduction to a rapidly developing field, combining developmental data with theory.

How do children begin to use language? How does knowledge of language emerge in early infancy, and how does it grow? This textbook offers a comprehensive introduction to knowledge acquisition, drawing on empirical evidence and linguistic theory. The theoretical framework used is the generative theory of Universal Grammar; students should have some familiarity with concepts in linguistic research. Aimed at upper-level undergraduate and graduate students, the book offers end-of-chapter summaries, key words, study questions, and exercises.

This second edition has been thoroughly updated, with new content throughout. It has been reorganized according to the three main components of language acquisition. The computational components and the interfaces are covered in chapters on structure building in the verbal and nominal domains, movement-derived structure, and the relation between syntax and semantics and semantic and pragmatic. The sensory motor interface is treated in chapters on infants' perception of language and on the acquisition of words. The intentional-conceptual interface is discussed in chapters on the acquisition of words. This edition features additional cross-linguistic content, a new focus on brain imaging findings and the motor aspect of language, new material on Williams and Down Syndromes and dyslexia, and a new chapter on bilingualism, early second language acquisition, and bimodalism. Revisions reflect the burgeoning research in the field. New pedagogical features include chapter outlines, summaries of chapters, hypotheses, and linguistic milestones; methodological information; explanatory boxes; and suggestions for further reading.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780262529389
Publisher:	MIT Press
Publication date:	02/10/2017
Series:	A Bradford Book
Edition description:	second edition
Pages:	672
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.40(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Maria Teresa Guasti is Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Milan-Bicocca.

Table of Contents

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xvii

Abbreviations xix

Chapter 1 Basic Concepts 1

Introduction 1

1.1 Reflections on the Course of Language Acquisition 2

1.2 The Logical Problem of Language Acquisition 9

1.3 Constructivist Models 10

1.4 Generativist Models 13

1.5 Critical or Sensitive Periods 22

1.6 The Architecture of the Language Faculty 25

Chapter 2 The Sensory-Motor Interface: First Steps into Language 29

Introduction 29

2.1 The Quest for the Native Language 30

2.2 Learning the Phonemic and Tone Contrasts of the Native Language 49

2.3 Infants' Speech Production 62

2.4 Summary and Concluding Remarks 66

Chapter 3 The Sensory-Motor and Conceptual-Intentional Interfaces: Acquisition of the Lexicon 71

Introduction 71

3.1 Why Finding Words Is a Problem 72

3.2 Finding Structures 93

3.3 The Phonological Bootstrapping Model and Universal Grammar 97

3.4 Why Acquiring the Meaning of Words Is a Problem 101

3.5 Bootstrapping of Syntax 123

3.6 Summary and Concluding Remarks 129

Chapter 4 The Computational System: The Emergence of Syntax in the Verbal Domain 135

Introduction 135

4.1 Children's Abstract Knowledge of Word Order 136

4.2 The Structure of Early Clauses 140

4.3 Morphosyntactic Features in Children's Clauses 154

4.4 Subject Agreement as a Structure-Dependent Relation 163

4.5 Root Infinitives 168

4.6 Summary and Concluding Remarks 188

Chapter 5 The Computational System: The Emergence of Syntax in the Nominal Domain 195

Introduction 195

5.1 The Structure of Nominal Arguments 196

5.2 Early Null Subjects 207

5.3 Clitic Pronouns in Romance Languages 226

5.4 Summary and Concluding Remarks 235

Chapter 6 The Computational System: A-Movement-Derived Structures 241

Introduction 241

6.1 Question Formation in Early Systems 242

6.2 The Subject/Object Asymmetry in Wh-Questions 256

6.3 Long-Distance Wh-Movement 275

6.4 Relative Clause Formation in Early Systems 287

6.5 The Subject/Object Asymmetry in Head-Initial Relative Clauses 307

6.6 Head-Final Relative Clauses as Evidence for Structure Dependency 316

6.7 Summary and Concluding Remarks 319

Chapter 7 The Computational System: A-Movement-Derived Structures 325

Introduction 325

7.1 Passive Constructions in Adult and Child Grammar 326

1.1 A Maturational Account of Early Passive Constructions 335

7.1 Abstract Knowledge of Passive 347

7.2 Summary and Concluding Remarks 357

Chapter 8 The Conceptual-Intentional Interface: Nominal and Pronominal Interpretation 361

Introduction 361

8.1 The Binding Theory 362

8.2 Principle A 375

8.3 Principle B 380

8.4 Principle C 394

8.5 Summary and Concluding Remarks 402

Chapter 9 The Conceptual-Intentional Interface: Quantification and Pragmatic Understanding 407

Introduction 407

9.1 Quantificational Structures in Child Language 408

9.2 Scalar Implicatures 436

9.3 A Core Property of Language: Downward Entailment 452

9.4 Structure Dependency and Interpretation 458

9.5 Summary and Concluding Remarks 462

Chapter 10 Language Acquisition in Pathological Conditions 467

Introduction 467

10.1 Discrepancy between Language and Other Cognitive Abilities: Specific Language Impairment 468

10.2 Language Problems in Children with Developmental Dyslexia 490

10.3 Language Problems in Children with Cognitive Disabilities: Williams Syndrome and Down Syndrome 492

10.4 Summary and Concluding Remarks 503

Chapter 11 Bilingualism and Early L2 509

Introduction 509

11.1 Two Separate Systems from Birth 511

11.2 A Bilingual Is Not the Sum of Two Monolinguals 516

11.3 Early Second Language Acquisition 526

11.4 EL2 and SLI: How Can We Distinguish the Two Conditions? 531

11.5 Bimodal Acquisition 537

11.6 Summary and Concluding Remarks 540

Notes 545

Glossary 557

References 563

Index 637

What People are Saying About This

Noam Chomsky

The study of language acquisition has made remarkable progress in recent years, with major contributions to linguistics and general cognitive science as well. Guasti provides an expert, lucid, and wide-ranging introduction and review that leads the reader from basic concepts to topics at the forefront of current inquiry in this rapidly developing and exciting field.

J. P. Changeux

This book offers a unique synthesis of ideas about the development of grammar. It is, in my opinion, a fine discussion of developmental data on a particularly difficult issue which has formerly been examined only from the point of view of adult language.

David Pesetsky

One of the most breathtaking developments of late twentieth-century linguistics was the long-awaited convergence of linguistic theory with empirical work on language acquisition. Thanks to Guasti, these results are now accessible to linguistics students of the new century. Guasti's textbook is clear, comprehensive, and exciting, and the obvious choice for any up-to-date course in developmental linguistics.

Thomas Hun-tak Lee

This revised edition is a state-of-the-art nativist introduction to language acquisition that draws from research on more than twenty typologically diverse languages. With its bibliography doubled in length, the book gives a comprehensive overview of the empirical evidence in support of Universal Grammar, based on behavioral and brain imaging findings in typical and atypical language development. It is a timely contribution that will initiate the student into the generative approach to language acquisition, highlighting our current understanding of the linguistic abilities of infants, toddlers, and young children. The book should be a key reference for anyone interested in the cross-linguistic study of language acquisition.

Ianthi Maria Tsimpli

Anyone interested in the scientific study of language acquisition will treasure Guasti's new edition of the widely known textbook. Not only does the book cover an impressive range of phenomena, it also situates their development within the most recent generative model of language architecture and its links with other aspects of human cognition.

Endorsement

One of the most breathtaking developments of late twentieth-century linguistics was the long-awaited convergence of linguistic theory with empirical work on language acquisition. Thanks to Guasti, these results are now accessible to linguistics students of the new century. Guasti's textbook is clear, comprehensive, and exciting, and the obvious choice for any up-to-date course in developmental linguistics.

—David Pesetsky, Ferrari P. Ward Professor of Modern Languages and Linguistics, MIT

From the Publisher

Anyone interested in the scientific study of language acquisition will treasure Guasti's new edition of the widely known textbook. Not only does the book cover an impressive range of phenomena, it also situates their development within the most recent generative model of language architecture and its links with other aspects of human cognition.

—Ianthi Maria Tsimpli, Professor of English and Applied Linguistics, University of Cambridge

This is the one textbook on language acquisition that every student should read, and the one that every active researcher will consult. An up-to-date summary of experimental research, this textbook documents the significant progress that has been made in the field of child language over the past forty years.

—Stephen Crain, Distinguished Professor of Linguistics, Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie University

This revised edition is a state-of-the-art nativist introduction to language acquisition that draws from research on more than twenty typologically diverse languages. With its bibliography doubled in length, the book gives a comprehensive overview of the empirical evidence in support of Universal Grammar, based on behavioral and brain imaging findings in typical and atypical language development. It is a timely contribution that will initiate the student into the generative approach to language acquisition, highlighting our current understanding of the linguistic abilities of infants, toddlers, and young children. The book should be a key reference for anyone interested in the cross-linguistic study of language acquisition.

—Thomas Hun-tak Lee, Chairperson and Professor, Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Gary F. Marcus

Phonology, syntax, and semantics have long been the lifeblood of training in linguistics, but in the 21st century linguists will increasingly need to supplement these foundational areas with a sophisticated understanding of language acquisition. Guasti's text, engagingly peppered with terrific examples drawn from actual child language, does a first-rate job of introducing students and professionals to the methods and questions in current research on how children acquire syntax and semantics.

Gennaro Chierchia

Minimalism has inspired many different attempts at making precise in what sense the architecture of grammar is 'economical.' Williams' theory that grammar is constituted by a restricted number of levels of representation linked by shape-preserving mappings constitutes an original and unorthodox blend of linguistic theorizing. It is a controversial idea that yields strikingly insightful analyses, tied together into a cogent and engaging argument.

Nina Hyams

Guasti lays out in clear and simple terms the nature of the acquisition task faced by every child and provides a comprehensive overview of recent research into core areas of language development. This is an outstanding introductory textbook for undergraduates and graduate students alike and a valuable resource for anyone interested in the fascinating problem of language acquisition.

Stephen Crain

This is the one textbook on language acquisition that every student should read, and the one that every active researcher will consult. An up-to-date summary of experimental research, this textbook documents the significant progress that has been made in the field of child language over the past forty years.