This book provides a very readable introduction to how children acquire and use language. It is aimed at advanced students of psychology, language, and education. Focusing on research evidence and everyday examples, it covers a broad range of topics and assumes no prior knowledge of either developmental psychology or linguistics. The emphasis of The Language of Children is on explaining psychological (cognitive, biological, and social) variables in language. The development of human language use is first related to the development of signaling in other species and to the early interaction between the infant and his or her mother (or other caregiver). The author then goes on to relate the child's language development to broader cognitive development, and considers the influence of schooling and social experience.

Thomas Eakins' 1875 painting, The Gross Clinic, the Rocky Statue, andthe Barnes Foundation are all iconic in Philadelphia for different reasons. But around the year 2000, this painting, this sculpture, and this entire art collection, respectively, generated extended-and heated-controversies about the "appropriate" location for each item. Contested Image revisits the debates that surrounded these works of visual culture and how each item changed through acts of reception-through the ways that viewers looked at, talked about, and used these objects to define their city. Laura Holzman investigates the negotiations and spirited debates that affected the city of Philadelphia's identity and its public image. She considers how the region's cultural resources reshaped the city's reputation as well as delves into discussions about official efforts to boost local spirit. In tracking these "contested images," Holzman illuminates the messy process of public envisioning of place and the ways in which public dialogue informs public meaning of both cities themselves and the objects of urban identity.

Thomas Eakins' 1875 painting, The Gross Clinic, the Rocky Statue, andthe Barnes Foundation are all iconic in Philadelphia for different reasons. But around the year 2000, this painting, this sculpture, and this entire art collection, respectively, generated extended-and heated-controversies about the "appropriate" location for each item. Contested Image revisits the debates that surrounded these works of visual culture and how each item changed through acts of reception-through the ways that viewers looked at, talked about, and used these objects to define their city. Laura Holzman investigates the negotiations and spirited debates that affected the city of Philadelphia's identity and its public image. She considers how the region's cultural resources reshaped the city's reputation as well as delves into discussions about official efforts to boost local spirit. In tracking these "contested images," Holzman illuminates the messy process of public envisioning of place and the ways in which public dialogue informs public meaning of both cities themselves and the objects of urban identity.

This book provides a very readable introduction for students of psychology, language, and education to how children acquire and use language. Focusing on research evidence and everyday examples, it covers a broad range of topics and assumes no prior knowledge of developmental psychology or linguistics.

The emphasis of "The Language of Children" is on explaining psychological (cognitive, biological and social) variables in language. The development of human language use is first related to the development of signaling in other species and to the early interaction between the infant and his or her mother (or other caregiver). It goes on to relate the child's development of language to broader cognitive development, and considers the influence of schooling and social experience.