Crosslinguistic Study of Language Acquisition

<p>Continuing the tradition of this series, which has become a standard reference work in language acquisition, Volume 4 contains chapters on three additional languages/language groups--Finnish, Greek, and Korean. The chapters are selective, critical reviews rather than exhaustive summaries of the course of development of each language. Authors approach the language in question as a case study in a potential crosslinguistic typology of acquisitional problems, considering those data which contribute to issues of general theoretical concern in developmental psycholinguistics and linguistic theory. Each chapter, therefore, provides the following: <br> * <i>Grammatical Sketch of Language.</i> Brief grammatical sketch of the language or language group, presenting those linguistic facts which are relevant to the developmental analysis. <br> * <i>Sources of Evidence.</i> Summary of basic sources of evidence, characterizing methods of gathering data, and listing key references. <br> * <i>Overall Course of Development.</i> Brief summary of the overall course of development in the language or language group, giving an idea of the general problems posed to the child in acquiring a language of this type, summarizing typical errors, domains of relatively error-free acquisition, and the timing of acquisition--areas of the grammar that show relatively precocious or delayed development in crosslinguistic perspective. <br> * <i>Data.</i> Specific developmental aspects of the language examined in depth, depending on each individual language and available acquisition data. <br> * <i>Conclusions.</i> An interpretive summary of theoretical points raised above, attending to general principles of language development and linguistic organization suggested by the study of a language of this type, plus comparisons with development of other languages.</p>