Originally published in 1973, this book is an account of how the child learns the sound system of his native language, or how he learns to speak. A theory of the acquisition of phonology is derived from a detailed and rigorous analysis of the developing speech of a young child observed over a period of two years. The details of this analysis are elaborated in depth in chapters two and three and the major results of the study are given in chapter four. The final chapter is devoted to the implications of language acquisition for linguistic theory in general and generative phonology in particular. In addition to the obvious relevance of this work to general linguists and psychologists working on language acquisition, it was of considerable importance to speech therapists and all those involved medically with the observation and treatment of infant speech, in that it provided a characterisation of normal development which could act as a yardstick by which to measure abnormal or pathological conditions.

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.

The Acquisition of L2 Phonology is a wide-ranging new collection which explores various aspects of the acquisition of an L2 phonological system. It covers L2 speech production and perception, theoretical conceptualisations of L2 phonology acquisition, and the importance of the mastery of highly intelligible pronunciation as an important component of L2 education.

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.

Examination Thesis from the year 2008 in the subject Didactics - English - Pedagogy, Literature Studies, grade: 1,0, University of Duisburg-Essen (Department of Anglophone Studies), language: English, abstract: This critical essay investigates the acquisition of phonology. It is amazing how rapidly children develop in the first years of their lives. The acquisition of their mother tongue is especially fascinating because it is such a complex process. Not only the linguistic code has to be fully acquired but also all its rules and norms. That is, apart from the language's phonology, morphology, syntax, lexis and semantics, - constituting the code of every language -pragmatic rules are also important for the daily use and the full dominance of a language. This essay focuses on the most basic field, phonology, and explains how a child acquires the target language's phonology. Although the stages of the acquisition process are described generally since they are universal and hold true for all children independently of their mother tongue, the attention is on the English phonology in particular. First language acquisition in general is an important topic, not only for linguists. To have knowledge about it also helps the parents to raise children, especially in bilingual situations. I, myself, consider it very useful to write about such a topic as one can learn to understand what and how many stages and steps are actually involved. If we know how it works, perhaps we may also understand why children initially make errors or quite unusual utterances or even extraordinary sounds (in the pre-language stages) while acquiring the native language. The essay will provide information about the whole acquisition process. However, the main focus will be on the first four to six years.

Much of the work currently conducted within the framework of Universal Grammar and language learnability focuses on the acquisition of syntax. However, the learnability issues are just as applicable to the domain of phonology. This volume is the first to gather research that assumes a sophisticated phonological framework and considers the implications of this framework for language acquisition -- both first and second. As such, this book truly deals with phonological acquisition rather than phonetic acquisition.