This best-selling and comprehensive text on language development is rich in information, research, examples and activities. A thorough and readable introductory text on language development, this book covers all aspects of the complex subject - including syntax, morphology, semantics, phonology, and pragmatics - while explaining each idea and concept in a way that is easily understandable by even beginning students of the field. Rich in pedagogical aids like discussion questions, chapter objectives, reflections, and main point boxed features, the eighth edition of Language Development also emphasizes culturally and linguistically diverse children and bilingual and dialectical developmental information - a discussion that accurately reflects the diversity of life and language in the United States.

Note: This is the bound book only and does not include access to the Enhanced Pearson eText. To order the Enhanced Pearson eText packaged with a bound book, use ISBN 0134092740. This best-selling introduction to language development text offers a cohesive, easy-to-understand overview of all aspects of the subject, from syntax, morphology, and semantics, to phonology and pragmatics. Each idea and concept is explained in a way that is clear to even beginners in the field, and then reinforced with outstanding pedagogical aids such as discussion questions, chapter objectives, reflections, and main point boxed features. The book looks at how children learn to communicate in general and in English specifically, while emphasizing individual patterns of communication development. The new Ninth Edition of Language Development by Robert Owens continues the distribution of bilingual and dialectal development throughout the text; expands the discussion of children from lower-SES families, including those living in homeless shelters; makes substantial improvements in the organization and clarity of Chapter 4 on cognition and its relationship to speech and language; consolidates information on Theory of Mind in one chapter; improves readability throughout with more thorough explanations, simplification of terms, and increased use of headings and bullets; weeds out redundancies and asides to help streamline the reading; provides more child language examples throughout; and thoroughly updates the research, including the addition of several hundred new references. The Enhanced Pearson eText features embedded video. Improve mastery and retention with the Enhanced Pearson eText* The Enhanced Pearson eText provides a rich, interactive learning environment designed to improve student mastery of content. The Enhanced Pearson eText is: Engaging. The new interactive, multimedia learning features were developed by the authors and other subject-matter experts to deepen and enrich the learning experience. Convenient. Enjoy instant online access from your computer or download the Pearson eText App to read on or offline on your iPad® and Android® tablet.* Affordable. The Enhanced Pearson eText may be purchased stand-alone or with a loose-leaf version of the text for 40-65% less than a print bound book. * The Enhanced eText features are only available in the Pearson eText format. They are not available in third-party eTexts or downloads. *The Pearson eText App is available on Google Play and in the App Store. It requires Android OS 3.1-4, a 7” or 10” tablet, or iPad iOS 5.0 or later.

There are between 4,000 and 6,000 languages remaining in the world and the characteristics of these languages vary widely. How could an infant born today master any language in the world, regardless of the language’s characteristics? Shelia M. Kennison answers this question through a comprehensive introduction to language development, taking a unique perspective that spans the period before birth through old age. Introduction to Language Development offers in-depth discussions on key topics, including: the biological basis of language, perceptual development, grammatical development, development of lexical knowledge, social aspects of language, bilingualism, the effect of language on thought, cognitive processing in language production and comprehension, language-related delays and disorders, and language late in life.

An introduction to the study of children's language development that provides a uniquely accessible perspective on generative/universal grammar–based approaches. How children acquire language so quickly, easily, and uniformly is one of the great mysteries of the human experience. The theory of Universal Grammar suggests that one reason for the relative ease of early language acquisition is that children are born with a predisposition to create a grammar. This textbook offers an introduction to the study of children's acquisition and development of language from a generative/universal grammar–based theoretical perspective, providing comprehensive coverage of children's acquisition while presenting core concepts crucial to understanding generative linguistics more broadly. After laying the theoretical groundwork, including consideration of alternative frameworks, the book explores the development of the sound system of language—children's perception and production of speech sound; examines how words are learned (lexical semantics) and how words are formed (morphology); investigates sentence structure (syntax), including argument structure, functional structure, and tense; considers such “nontypical” circumstances as acquiring a first language past infancy and early childhood, without the abilities to hear or see, and with certain cognitive disorders; and studies bilingual language acquisition, both simultaneously and in sequence. Each chapter offers a summary section, suggestions for further reading, and exercises designed to test students' understanding of the material and provide opportunities to practice analyzing children's language. Appendixes provide charts of the International Phonetic Alphabet (with links to websites that allow students to listen to the sounds associated with these symbols) and a summary of selected experimental methodologies.

This authoritative introduction to language development offers a stage-by-stage description of how human speech and language are acquired over the course of the early childhood years, and how they are changed and diversified by the influences of gender, geography, and culture. Rather than discuss speech and language components as separate, individual elements, these authors strive to give readers a real-time sense of speech acquisition and language growth as it happens, at every stage of development. They organize information on morphology, syntax, phonology, semantics, and pragmatics around general stages of language development as described by Roger Brown...thus emphasizing the integration and interaction of components, rather than their individual characteristics. The book explores similarities and differences between human speech and the communication systems of other species, discusses the anatomy and physiology of the physical speech mechanism, and addresses the nature of communication disorders. Conversational and friendly, the book's writing style and generous use of examples make it exceptional, reader-friendly, and accessible to readers who have no previous background in either linguistics or speech-language pathology.

An Introduction to Language introduces students to the fascinating study of human language. Engagingly and clearly written, it provides an overview of the key areas of linguistics from an Australian perspective. Unique to this text, the International Phonetic Alphabet is represented by both HCE and MD versions, allowing lecturers to use whichever IPA system they prefer. Premium online teaching and learning tools are available on the MindTap platform. Learn more about the online tools au.cengage.com/mindtap

The second edition of Theories in Second Language Acquisition seeks to build on the strengths of the first edition by surveying the major theories currently used in second language acquisition research. This volume is an ideal introductory text for undergraduate and graduate students in SLA and language teaching. Each chapter focuses on a single theory, written by a leading scholar in the field in an easy-to-follow style – a basic foundational description of the theory, relevant data or research models used with this theory, common misunderstandings, and a sample study from the field to show the theory in practice. This text is designed to provide a consistent and coherent presentation for those new to the field who seek basic understanding of theories that underlie contemporary SLA research. Researchers will also find the book useful as a "quick guide" to theoretical work outside their respective domains.