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