This best-selling book addresses language variations among children, new advances in linguistics and neurology, and the importance of literacy, as well the impact of these issues on our understanding of individual development. In addition, this clearly written and comprehensive book features sections on culturally and linguistically diverse children to reflect the realities of schools in the United States. Developed within a practical framework, Language Development: An Introduction examines every aspect of syntax, morphology, semantics, phonology, and pragmatics.
New features to this edition include:
- A new chapter (Ch. 11) on School-Age Literacy Development.
- Updates to the chapter on Cognitive, Perceptual, and Motor Bases of Early Language and Speech (Ch. 4) that include the latest in brain imaging information to convey links between anatomy, physiology, cognition, and language, as well as the roles these links play in the development of language abnormalities.
- Updated Companion Website that now includes extensive audio examples of child language.
Table of Contents:
All chapters begin with “Chapter Objectives” and conclude with “Conclusion,” “Discussions,” and “Reflections.”
Preface
1. The Territory
This Text and You
Speech, Language, and Communication
Properties of Language
Components of Language
2. Describing Language
Behavioral Theory
Psycholinguistic Theory: A Syntactic Model
Psycholinguistic Theory: A Semantic/Cognitive Model
Sociolinguistic Theory
Emergentism
3. Neurological Bases of Speech and Language
Central Nervous System
Language Processing
Theory of Mind
4. Cognitive, Perceptual, and Motor Bases of Early Language and Speech
Which Came First, Cognition or Language?
Neurological Development
Early Cognitive Development
5. The Social and Communicative Bases of Early Language and Speech
Development of Communication: A Chronology
Maternal Communication Behaviors
Interactions between Infant and Caregiver
6. Language-Learning and Teaching Processes and Young Children.
Comprehension, Production, and Cognitive Growth
Child Learning Strategies
Adult Conversational Teaching Techniques
Importance of Play
Cultural and Social Differences
7. A First Language: Toddler Talk
Single-Word Utterances
Early Multiword Combinations
Phonological Learning
8. Preschool Pragmatic and Semantic Development
Preschool Development
Pragmatic Development
Semantic Development
Interdependence of Form, Content, and Use: Pronouns.
9. Preschool Development of Language Form
Semantic-Syntactic Connection
Stages of Syntactic and Morphologic Development
Morphologic Development
Sentence-Form Development
Embedding and Conjoining
Phonemic and Phonological Development
10. Early School-Age Language Development
Pragmatic Development
Semantic Development
Syntactic and Morphologic Development
Phonological Development
Metalinguistic Abilities
11. School-Age Literacy Development
The Process of Reading
Reading Development
The Process of Writing
Writing Development
12. Adolescent and Adult Language
Pragmatics
Semantics
Syntax and Morphology
Phonology
Literacy
13. Language Differences: Bidialectism and Bilingualism
Dialects
Bilingualism
14. Language Research and Analysis
Issues in the Study of Childhood Language
Cross-Language Studies
Examples of Child Language Data
Appendix A: American English Speech Sounds
Appendix B: Transcripts to Accompany Text Compact Disc
Review :
“What I really like about the Owens text is that he goes into enough detail to make it a `meaty’ text for the serious student.” —Margery Whites, St. Cloud State University
“The Owens Language Development text provides students with a wealth of current information. I have been satisfied with this text.” — Barbara Weitzner-Lin, State University College of Buffalo
