The Blackwell Handbook of Language Development provides a comprehensive treatment of the major topics and current concerns in the field; exploring the progress of 21st century research, its precursors, and promising research topics for the future.

List of Contributors viii
Preface xi
On the Development of the Field of Language Development Marilyn Shatz 1
Basic Foundations and Theoretical Approaches to Language Development 17
Introduction 19
The Neurodevelopmental Bases of Language Valerie L. Shafer Karen Garrido-Nag 21
Formal and Computational Constraints on Language Development Helen Goodluck 46
Domain-General Learning Capacities Jenny R. Saffran Erik D. Thiessen 68
How Inherently Social is Language? Dare Baldwin Meredith Meyer 87
Input and the Acquisition of Language: Three Questions Virginia C. Mueller Gathercole Erika Hoff 107
The Emergence of Language: A Dynamical Systems Account Julia L. Evans 128
Language Development in Infancy 149
Introduction 151
Experiential Influences on Speech Perception and Speech Production in Infancy Linda Polka Susan Rvachew Karen Mattock 153
Acquiring Linguistic Structure LouAnn Gerken 173
Cognitive Processes in Early Word Learning Diane Poulin-Dubois Susan A. Graham 191
Syntactic Supports for Word Learning Letitia R. Naigles Lauren D. Swensen 212
Language Development in Early Childhood 233
Introduction 235
Phonological Development Carol Stoel-Gammon Anna Vogel Sosa 238
Mechanisms of Word Learning Gil Diesendruck 257
The Abstract Nature of Syntactic Representations: Consequences for a Theory of Learning Jeffrey Lidz 277
Conversational Understanding in Young Children Michael Siegal Luca Surian 304
Bilingual First Language Acquisition Fred Genesee Elena Nicoladis 324
Language Development after Early Childhood 343
Introduction 345
Developing Linguistic Knowledge and Language Use Across Adolescence Ruth A. Berman 347
Language and Literacy in Bilingual Children in the Early School Years D. Kimbrough Oller Linda Jarmulowicz 368
Second Language Acquisition in Childhood Johanne Paradis 387
Atypical Language Development 407
Introduction 409
Children with Specific Language Impairment: Bridging the Genetic and Developmental Perspectives Mabel L. Rice 411
Atypical Language Development: Autism and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders Helen Tager-Flusberg 432
Reading and Reading Disorders Heikki Lyytinen Jane Erskine Mikko Aro Ulla Richardson 454
Author Index 475
Subject Index 482

Erika Hoff is Professor of Psychology at Florida Atlantic University. She is author of Language Development (2005).

Marilyn Shatz is Professor of Psychology and Linguistics at the University of Michigan. She is author of A Toddler’s Life (1994).

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