The Development of Language, 6th Edition

by Jean Berko Gleason

The sixth edition of The Development of Language covers language acquisition and development from infancy through adulthood. The sixth edition of this authoritative book is written and contributed to by leading researchers in the area of language development and acquisition. It is the ideal book for anyone interested in how children acquire language and how language develops across the life span. Syntax, morphology, semantics, phonology, and pragmatics are thoroughly explored. It examines atypical development, presents strong coverage of individual differences, how and why they occur, and provides contemporary references and the most recent research findings. The panel of expert authors provides readers with cutting-edge research knowledge in an interesting and highly readable format. The emphasis on change over the life span is even more important now than it was when The Development of Language was originally published, since it reinforces current developments in cognitive neuroscience that indicate language, once acquired, is not static, but rather, undergoes constant neural reorganization.

Genres: Linguistics, Language, Psychology, School, Parenting, Teaching, Education

528 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1985

Reviews

[Sirr Tahirah · Rating 4 out of 5]

good intro but i dislike several factors. also note that i read the 7th edition and did not both paying more for the 8th.

the summary is that this is a good generalized textbook with accurate information to the field of FLA. however i felt like information in this and other resources are presented as givens with little room for variation, which is what occurs in reality. that is, not every child acquires specific milestones at the same age. these are averages and generalizations. it doesn't take into account children of other backgrounds, for example the social issues that may influence child first language (or simultaneous multi/bi lingual) aquisition. poverty, immigrants (from what cultures?), single parent households, different non-mainstream educational challenges were generally not presented. it spoke briefly about deaf and autistic acquisition points. additionally it did not cover that sequential bilingualism is actually L2, which doesn't mean too much in terms of the information. ONLY that there are a lot more variables in acquisition and i felt this textbook did not take such things into account as it should have. the audience is a generalized student population, and i have children so i know a thing or two about it. i am able to test out some of these 'givens' and offer exceptional evidence to some "given milestones" and it bothers me that "scientists" come into the field learning things which may or may not be true. fortunately i had an awesome teacher to accompany the text.

i do not have an alternative "better" or more appropriate text and i would suggest this still as an introduction, after acknowledging these points to the students of such a text. they might also learn that through an assignment where they are expected to collect data, and analyze it in a write up, an academic term paper with specific standards. (I took SLA theory first so this textbook was really light in comparison, and focused more on the stating information vice learning to collect info. I suggest for SLA/Data collection on FLA/SLA Ellis & Barkhuizen actually.)

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A textbook that's well-written, in-depth and fascinating is a rare treasure. This is a wonderful introduction to the very complex physical, cognitive, psychological and social aspects of receptive and expressive language development - typical and atypical - from birth to old age. Brilliant insight #1: Women have two language centers of the brain and men only have one, making it doubly difficult for men to process their own internal language as well as the language of others. As men age, their ability to process language decreases which explains why they start to shut down verbally and why men are less likely to recover verbal ability after a stroke than women.

[Merry Packard Gravett]

I actually read the 7th edition, published in 2009, but Good Reads doesn't have it. It was okay. I'm not really educationally/occupationally interested in first language development, but the information was interesting and I'm sure I'll think about it again when I have my own kids!

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably the best resource I have found for normal lang. development. Simple enough for an undergrad, but still useful later on.

[Ariellathomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful to understand the development of language in young children.

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it for my Second Language Acquisition class. It was really well written and interesting.

[Jennyrose Salvador]

It about language aquisition.