This book provides an analysis of two theories of language acquisition: the theory that acquisition is primarily mediated by innate properties of language provided by universal grammar, and the opposing theory that language is acquired based on the patterns in the ambient language. A problem not often considered is that these two theories are confounded because the structures that are frequent across languages are also typically the most frequent within a specific language. In addition, the innate theory of language acquisition is difficult to quantify and qualify. Using cross-linguistic, corpus and experimental approaches, this book attempts to contrast these theories through an examination of the acquisition of word-final consonants in English.

The central assertion in this volume is that the young child uses general skills, scaffolded by adults, to acquire the complex knowledge of sound patterns and the goal-directed behaviors for communicating ideas through language and producing speech. A child’s acquisition of phonology is seen as a product of her physical and social interaction capacities supported by input from adult models about ambient language sound patterns. Acquisition of phonological knowledge and behavior is a product of this function-oriented complex system. No pre-existing mental knowledge base is necessary for acquiring phonology in this view. Importantly, the child’s diverse abilities are used for many other functions as well as phonological acquisition. Throughout, an evaluation is made of the research on patterns of typical development across languages in monolingual and bilingual children and children with speech impairments affecting various aspects of their developing complex system. Also considered is the status of available theoretical perspectives on phonological acquisition relative to an emergence proposal, and contributions that this perspective could make to more comprehensive modeling of the nature of phonological acquisition are proposed. The volume will be of interest to cognitive psychologists, linguistics, and speech pathologists.

In this comprehensive introduction, Anne-Michelle Tessier examines how we acquire the sounds and sound patterns of language. Analyzing child speech patterns and their analogues among adult languages while also teaching the basics of Optimality Theory, this novel textbook will help students develop a broad grammatical understanding of phonological acquisition. Phonological Acquisition provides - Evidence to support theory from multiple language families, populations and data collection methods - Connections to lexical, morphological and perceptual learning Assuming only a basic knowledge of phonology, this textbook is aimed at students of linguistics, developmental psychology, speech pathology and communication disorders. It will also be of interest to professional psychologists, acquisition researchers, clinicians, and anyone concerned with child speech development.

This volume is a collection of 13 chapters, each devoted to a particular issue that is crucial to our understanding of the way learners acquire, learn, and use an L2 sound system. In addition, it spans both theory and application in L2 phonology. The book is divided into three parts, with each section unified by broad thematic content: Part I, “Theoretical Issues and Frameworks in L2 Phonology,” lays the groundwork for examining L2 phonological acquisition. Part II, “Second Language Speech Perception and Production,” examines these two aspects of L2 speech in more detail. Finally, Part III, “Technology, Training, and Curriculum,” bridges the gap between theory and practice. Each chapter examines theoretical frameworks, major research findings (both classic and recent), methodological issues and choices for conducting research in a particular area of L2 phonology, and major implications of the research findings for more general models of language acquisition and/or pedagogy.

This is the first book-length study of phonological development and impairment of Chinese-speaking children. It provides the first normative data on this population, which will be of value to speech and language therapists and other professionals. It also advances the notion of 'phonological saliency' which explains the cross-linguistic similarities and differences in children's phonological development.

The universalist view that acquisition of phonology is guided by universal principles has been the dominant position for decades. More recently, an alternative view has brought into focus the relationship between developmental markedness and language-specific input frequencies. With entirely original chapters on non-ambient-like productions by typically and atypically developing children, and second language learners, Unusual Productions in Phonology delves deeply into these competing explanations to show that patterns observed do not uniquely lend themselves to one or the other explanations. Rather, they point towards the need for both universal markedness and statistical input considerations in any attempted explanation. Containing contributions from leading researchers from around the world, this impressive collection is a must-have resource for any researcher, practitioner, or advanced student specializing in phonology, cognitive psychology, applied linguistics, and communication disorders.

Including contributions from a team of world-renowned international scholars, this volume is a state-of-the-art survey of second language speech research, showcasing new empirical studies alongside critical reviews of existing influential speech learning models. It presents a revised version of Flege's Speech Learning Model (SLM-r) for the first time, an update on a cornerstone of second language research. Chapters are grouped into five thematic areas: theoretical progress, segmental acquisition, acquiring suprasegmental features, accentedness and acoustic features, and cognitive and psychological variables. Every chapter provides new empirical evidence, offering new insights as well as challenges on aspects of the second language speech acquisition process. Comprehensive in its coverage, this book summarises the state of current research in second language phonology, and aims to shape and inspire future research in the field. It is an essential resource for academic researchers and students of second language acquisition, applied linguistics and phonetics and phonology.