The Child Language Reader provides an introduction to the most important research in child language acquisition and development. Including extensive editorial introductions, which explain key background, assumptions and terminology, and organized into thematic sections, it brings the reader into direct contact with original research, in a supported and guided environment.
Features include:
*articles written by a range of international authors, including classics by influential figures
*coverage of a number of language development areas, including phonology, semantics, sociolinguistics, methodology and bilingualism
*a substantial section on methodology, offering practical insight into the design of child language research
*an appendix on statistical analysis
*a new piece by Brian Richards and David Malvern.
Covering a range of different theoretical stand points, The Child Language Reader offers a comprehensive overview of the field, and is a definitive resource for anyone with an interest in
child language.

A companion for students undertaking a piece of independent research for the first time. It introduces the most commonly used tools and techniques of research and offers practical advice on how to choose a research topic, how to collect data, how to analyze it and how to write up the results. Sections on the main areas of linguistics discuss problems of research that are specific to the topic, and there are appendices on plagiarism, referencing, writing academic English, and the use of corpora, amongst others. The work seeks to bridge the gap between what research methods textbooks cover and what students need to know in order to conduct research successfully at undergraduate level.

Contents:
Editors' Preface Acknowledgements Notes on Contributors
SECTION 1: The social matrix of language development
Editors' Introduction to Section 1 1.1 Elena Lieven Conversations between mothers and young children: individual differences and their possible implication for the study of language learning 1.2 Jennifer Coates The acquisition of gender-differentiated language
SECTION 2: Methodology
Editors' Introduction to Section 2 2.1 Priscilla Alderson Ethical standards through the research process 2.2 Brian MacWhinney Introduction [to the CHILDES Project] 2.3 Brian Richards and David Malvern Investigating the validity of a new measure of lexical diversity for root and inflected forms
SECTION 3: Meanings
Editors' Introduction to Section 3 3.1 Margaret Harris, Caroline Yeeles, Joan Chasin and Yvonne Oakley Symmetries and asymmetries in early lexical comprehension and production 3.2 William Merriman and Colleen Stevenson Restricting a familiar name in response to learning a new one: evidence for the mutual exclusivity bias in young two-year-olds 3.3 Melissa Bowerman From universal to language-specific in early grammatical development
SECTION 4: Word and sentence structure
Editors' Introduction to Section 4 4.1 Lila Gleitman and Jane Gillette The role of syntax in verb learning 4.2 Deanne Swan How to build a lexicon: a case study of lexical errors and innovations
SECTION 5: Phonology
Editors' Introduction to Section 5 5.1 Carol Stoel-Gammon On the acquisition of velars 5.2 E. Jane Fee Syllable structure and minimal words
SECTION 6: Explanations of language development
Editors' Introduction to Section 6 6.1 Ann Peters Filler syllables: what is their status in emerging grammar? 6.2 Nina Hyams Underspecification and modularity in early syntax: a formalist perspective on language acquisition 6.3 Brian MacWhinney Emergent language
SECTION 7: Bilingualism and cross-cultural comparisons
Editors' Introduction to Section 6 7.1 Suzanne Romaine Bilingual language development 7.2 Alison Gopnik Theories, language and culture: Whorf without wincing
Appendix: About statistical analysis Bibliography Index