Child Language: Acquisition and Development

by Matthew Saxton

Electronic Inspection Copy available for instructors here Presented with the latest thinking and research on how children acquire their first language, the reader is taken from a standing start to the point where they can engage with key debates and current research in the field of child language. No background knowledge of linguistic theory is assumed and all specialist terms are introduced in clear, non-technical language. A theme running through the book is the nature-nurture debate, rekindled in the modern era by Noam Chomsky, with his belief that the child is born with a rich knowledge of language. This book is rare in its balanced presentation of evidence from both sides of the nature-nurture divide. The reader is encouraged to adopt a critical stance throughout and weigh up the evidence for themselves. Key features for the student boxes and exercises to foster an understanding of key concepts in language and linguistics; a glossary of key terms; suggestions for further reading; a list of useful websites at the end of each chapter; discussion points for use in class; and separate author and subject indexes.

Genres: Linguistics, Nonfiction

344 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 15, 2010

Reviews

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

An accessible and comprehensive overview over the field of child language acquisition, the book does not rely on page-long sentences or unnecessary amounts of undefined terminology.

However, I need to deduct a star for two simple reasons:
1) due to the developments in linguistic research of the last decade, the book needs to be supplied with additional texts and studies if its readers don’t wish to be misinformed.
2) a handful of the quips and jokes within the book could have been easily left out, as they at times seem to be there just for the sake of filling pages.

[Demian Haldar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where others in the field of linguistics seem eager to use big words and unnecessarily complex ways of explaining things, Saxton made all the concepts discussed in the book very clear (to me)! Clear and simple and accompanied by plenty of examples. I genuinely enjoyed reading this book, thanks to the accessible language as well as the (mostly bad) jokes sprinkled in everywhere that lighten up the material. And language acquisition is super interesting, of course.

[Daan Konink · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goed inleidend boek. + leuk geschreven. Latere hoofdstukken over UG en de usage based approach zijn wel wat lastiger door te komen.

[Elizabeth Quinlan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author was very informed about the topic and made it enjoyable to read by sprinkling in funny notes, info boxes and art. However, when using this in a class recently my instructor told students to update a few pieces of information because it had become outdated.

[Rabiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matthew Saxton summarized the prominent approaches and theories to child language acquisition. A really handy book for researchers and students.

[Y.M.R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting and well written. The author makes an effort to cover opposite viewpoints. A great introduction to child language acquisition and development!