Development of Language, THe (Custom Edition), 9th edition

Published by Pearson Learning Solutions (February 21, 2017) © 2017

  • Jean Berko Gleason
  • Nan Bernstein Ratner

VitalSource eTextbook

ISBN-13: 9781488618765
Development of Language, The (Custom Edition)
Published 2017

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Title overview

World-renowned experts provide a definitive exploration of language acquisition and development from infancy through adulthood.

In a multi-disciplinary approach and written by outstanding scholars known for their expertise in the areas they discuss, The Development of Language focuses on language acquisition throughout the lifespan, with new coverage of linguistic achievements in the first year of life and through the middle school years. It examines what we know about language development using biological, social, and cultural contexts, while also investigating individual differences, atypical development, literacy, and language development in adults.

This edition emphasises language development in children who are learning languages other than English or are bilingual and includes new information about children with risk factors for language delay or disorder. Within each topical area, such as speech production, vocabulary, syntax, pragmatics, and literacy, the authors integrate discussion of potential problems or differences in how children learn the various aspects of language. Cultural influences that lead to group and individual variation in children’s language environments and profiles of language development are addressed throughout.

Each chapter is written by world-renowned scholars and cutting-edge researchers, and each chapter provides a helpful summary, list of key words, a comprehensive text glossary explaining each term, and extensive links to video resources that help bring the concepts to clarity, through examples of child communication behaviours, insights into how research into child language is conducted, and first person interviews with influential researchers in the field.

Table of contents

  • 1 The development of language: An overview and a preview 
  • 2 Communication development in infancy 
  • 3 Phonological development: Learning sounds and sound patterns 
  • 4 Semantic development: Learning the meanings of words  
  • 5 Putting words together: Comprehension and production of morphology and syntax in the preschool years 
  • 6 Language in social contexts: Development of communicative competence  
  • 7 Theoretical approaches to language acquisition  
  • 8 Variation in language development: Implications for research and theory  
  • 9 Atypical language development 
  • 10 Language and literacy in the school years  
  • 11 Bilingual language development 

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