This book constitutes the proceedings of the 25th International Conference on Developments in Language Theory, DLT 2021, which was held in Porto, Portugal, during August 16-20, 2021. The conference took place in an hybrid format with both in-person and online participation. The 27 full papers included in these proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected from 48 submissions. The DLT conference series provides a forum for presenting current developments in formal languages and automata. Its scope is very general and includes, among others, the following topics and areas: grammars, acceptors and transducers for words, trees and graphs; algebraic theories of automata; algorithmic, combinatorial, and algebraic properties of words and languages; variable length codes; symbolic dynamics; cellular automata; polyominoes and multidimensional patterns; decidability questions; image manipulation and compression; efficient text algorithms; relationships to cryptography, concurrency, complexity theory, and logic; bio-inspired computing; quantum computing. The book also includes 3 invited talks in full paper length.

Language Development From Theory to Practice provides a survey of key topics in language development, including research methods, theoretical perspectives, and major language milestones from birth to adolescence and beyond, and language diversity and language disorders. Each chapter bridges language development theory and practice by providing students with a theoretical and scientific foundation to the study of language development. The authors emphasize the relevance of the material to students’ current and future experiences in clinical, educational, and research settings; emphasize multicultural considerations and how they affect language development; focus on using evidence-based practices for making educational and clinical decisions; show the relevance of a multidisciplinary perspective on the theory and practice of language development; and include a number of outstanding pedagogical features to motivate and engage students.

This volume is both a state-of-the-art display of current thinking on second language development as a complex system. It is also a tribute to Diane Larsen-Freeman for her decades of intellectual leadership in the academic disciplines of applied linguistics and second language acquisition. The chapters therein range from theoretical expositions to methodological analyses, pedagogical proposals, and conceptual frameworks for future research. In a balanced and in-depth manner, the authors provide a comprehensive and interdisciplinary understanding of second language development, with a wealth of insights that promise to break the status-quo of current research and take it to exciting new territory. The book will appeal to both seasoned and novice researchers in applied linguistics, second language acquisition, bilingualism, cognitive psychology, and education, as well as to practitioners in second or foreign language teaching of any language.

The chapters in this volume arise from presentations at a unique conference on typical and atypical language development held in Madison, USA in 2002. This joint meeting of the International Association for the Study of Child Language, and the Symposium for Research in Child Language Disorders brought together – for the first time in such large numbers – researchers from these two distinct but related fields. The week-long schedule of the conference allowed for an in-depth interrogation of their theoretical positions, methodologies and findings. In the contributions to this volume we have put together a carefully selected set of papers which from various perspectives explore the linkage between developmental theory and language impairment, and at the same time illustrate the effects of distinct conditions – hearing loss, autism, Down syndrome, Williams syndrome and specific language impairment – on the communication abilities of affected individuals. An introductory chapter, and a detailed summary which picks up recurring themes in the chapters, complete the volume.

In this groundbreaking book, Tomasello presents a comprehensive usage-based theory of language acquisition. Drawing together a vast body of empirical research in cognitive science, linguistics, and developmental psychology, Tomasello demonstrates that we don't need a self-contained "language instinct" to explain how children learn language. Their linguistic ability is interwoven with other cognitive abilities.

Suzanne Flynn and Wayne O'Neil Massachusetts Institute of Technology I. INTRODUCTION The theory of Universal Grammar (UG) as explicated e. g. in Chomsky, 1986, has led to explosive developments in the study of natural language as well as to significant advances in the study of first language (L I) acquisition. Most recently. the theory of UG has led to important theore tical and empirical advances in the field of adult second language (L2) acquisition as well. The principle impetus for this development can be traced to the work in linguistics which shifted the study "from behavior or the products of behavior to states of the mind/brain that enter into behavior" (Chomksy. 1986:3). Grammars within this framework are conceived of as theoretical accounts of "the state of the mind/brain of the person who knows a particular language" (Chomsky. 1986:3). Research within fields of language acquisition seeks to isolate and specify the properties of the underlying competence necessary for language learning. Full development of a theory of UG demands study and understanding of the nature of both the formal properties of language and of the language acquisition process itself. However. while there is a tradition of debate and dialogue established between theoretical linguistics and Ll acquisition research. relatively few connections have been made between linguistic theory and L2 acquisition research.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Developments in Language Theory, DLT 2011, held in Milano, Italy, in July 2011. The 34 regular papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. The volume also contains the papers or abstracts of 5 invited speakers, as well as a 2-page abstract for each of the 7 poster papers. The topics covered include grammars, acceptors and transducers for words, trees and graphs; algebraic theories of automata; codes; symbolic dynamics; algorithmic, combinatorial and algebraic properties of words and languages; decidability questions; applications of language theory, including: natural computing, image manipulation and compression, text algorithms, cryptography, concurrency, complexity theory and logic; cellular automata and multidimensional patterns; language theory aspects of quantum computing and bio-computing.