Phonological Development: Origins of Language in the Child(Applied Language Studies)

This is the first book length survey of and introduction to the study of the child's acquisition of phonology.It contrasts data-based interactionist, cognitive models of phonological development with earlier deductive behaviorist and structuralist accounts. Setting these models in current neurophysiological perspectives, it integrates the flourishing independent research areas of infant speech perception and vocal production. The book traces the nature and timing of prosodic and segmental development with due attention to evidence of individual differences and from cross-linguistic studies. It describes the emergence of first words and the first phonological system against the background of the child's social and cognitive development in the first 18 months. Reviewing current studies of later development, the book discusses the role of vocabulary growth in the emergence of the segment, the early relationship of phonology and syntax, and the emergence of reading and spelling in relation to phonological sensitivity.

Table of Contents:
List of figures. List of tables. Acknowledgments. Conventions. 1. Introduction. 2. Theoretical Perspectives. 3. Infant Speech Perception: Initial Capacities. 4. Infant Speech Perception: Developmental Change. 5. Infant Vocal Production. 6. The Transition to Language. 7. Linguistic Perception, Word Recognition, and Phonological Representations. 8. Advances in Phonological Development. Appendices. References. Index.

About the Author :
Marilyn Vihman is Associate Professor in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Southeastern Louisiana University. From 1980 to 1988 she was Director of the Child Phonology Project at Stanford University.

Review :
"This rich and lucid book integrates research language drawing on published (and unpublished) resources of contemporary breadth as well as time depth. The open--minded, data grounded view of phonological development taken here places it in a setting of infantsa affective, communicative and perceptual development. The history of the field is clearly presented, with an enormous wealth of experimental, observational, and theoretical references as well as appendices of supporting data. No sophistication in the knowledge of phonetics or phonology is presupposed." Lise Menn, University of Colorado "Her book is like the insidera s guide to a strange but inviting place. Throughout this journey, Vihman is an able guide, accurate reporter, insightful interpreter, and imaginative synthesizer. Her even--handed perspective brings competing theories into clear relief, and shows how various sources of data stand in respect to each other. Vihman transcends disciplinary boundaries and shows how various specialities converge in the contemporary study of developmental phonology." Ray Kent, University of Wisconsin--Madison