{"id":1249,"date":"2010-12-05T22:00:55","date_gmt":"2010-12-05T20:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/elanguage.net\/blogs\/booknotices\/?p=1249"},"modified":"2010-11-23T12:48:28","modified_gmt":"2010-11-23T10:48:28","slug":"first-language-acquisition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/?p=1249","title":{"rendered":"First language acquisition"},"content":{"rendered":"
First language acquisition<\/strong>. 2nd edn. By Eve V. Clark<\/strong>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. Pp. xii, 490. ISBN 9780521732932<\/a>. $42.99.<\/div>\n

Reviewed by Iris F. Levitis<\/strong><\/a>, University of Rostock<\/em><\/p>\n

This is the second edition of First language acquisition<\/em> first published in 2003. The purpose of introducing the sub-field of first language acquisition is delineated by the author, Eve V. Clark, as illustrating the essential connection between children\u2019s need to communicate and the resulting cumulative process of language acquisition. Divided into four parts, the book follows the trajectory of child language from simple to complex utterances. C begins by situating language acquisition in an interactionist framework in Ch. 1, \u2018Acquiring language: Issues and questions\u2019 (1\u201318).<\/p>\n

Part 1, \u2018Getting started\u2019, commences by constructing the topic through the joint focus of mother and infant. The role and purpose of child directed speech is specifically discussed in Ch. 2, \u2018In conversation with children\u2019 (21\u201350), as well as debates about its universality. Ch. 3, \u2018Starting on language: Perception\u2019 (51\u201374), addresses how children start to segment speech sounds and learn the phonemes of their language. In Ch. 4, \u2018Early words\u2019 (75\u201394), C examines what kinds of words children first begin using cross-linguistically and how they make the best of a limited vocabulary. Ch. 5, \u2018Sounds in words: Production\u2019 (94\u2013121), covers language production from pre-babbling to first words. The semantic and pragmatic aspects of word acquisition are the subject of the final chapter, Ch. 6 \u2018Words and meanings\u2019 (122\u201348).<\/p>\n

Part 2, \u2018Constructions and meanings\u2019, is likewise composed of five chapters. In this section, C demonstrates how children begin to expand in their detail by producing longer utterances. Ch. 7, \u2018First combination, first constructions\u2019 (151\u201375), looks at the learning of inflections and word classes. In Ch. 9, \u2018Adding complexity within clauses\u2019 (199\u2013228), C shows the learning of clausal complexity such as negation and question formation. C addresses the combining of clauses in Ch. 10, \u2018Combining clauses: More complex constructions\u2019 (229\u201353). This section closes with a final chapter, Ch. 11 \u2018Constructing words\u2019 (254\u201378), which deals with the formation of words.<\/p>\n

In Part 3, \u2018Using language\u2019, C focuses on the acquisition of conversational skills. In Ch. 12, \u2018Honing conversational skills\u2019 (281\u2013305), C examines how speech acts and turn taking skills are learned. Aspects of politeness and the understanding of social roles are then explored in Ch. 13, \u2018Doing things with language\u2019 (306\u201335). The final chapter in this section, Ch. 14 \u2018Two languages at a time\u2019 (336\u201354), addresses the acquisition of more than one language or dialect.<\/p>\n

In Part 4, \u2018Process in acquisition\u2019, C explains and examines two debates in the field of first language acquisition. In Ch. 15, \u2018Specialization for language\u2019 (357\u201377), C reviews the arguments for and against an innate language acquisition device. She closes the volume with a discussion of how child language acquisition changes over time in Ch. 16 \u2018Acquisition and change\u2019 (378\u2013400).<\/p>\n

This book will be useful to the teaching of undergraduates and graduate students alike. Though it would provide an excellent introduction for undergraduates, this text is dense enough with research references that it could also provide graduate students an entrance into a specific area of first language acquisition research. In addition to a glossary and extensive reference section, there is a name index, which offers easy reference to each researcher and where he or she is mentioned in the book. All together, this book would be a useful resource for researchers in the field of first language acquisition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

First language acquisition. 2nd edn. By Eve V. Clark. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. Pp. xii, 490. ISBN 9780521732932. $42.99. Reviewed by Iris F. Levitis, University of Rostock This is the second edition of First language acquisition first published in 2003. The purpose of introducing the sub-field of first language acquisition is delineated by the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1249"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1249"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1250,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1249\/revisions\/1250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}