Constraints in Phonological Acquisition

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title Constraints in Phonological Acquisition
Authors and Contributors      Edited by Rene Kager
Edited by Joe Pater
Edited by Wim Zonneveld
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:428
Dimensions(mm): Height 229,Width 152
Category/Genrelinguistics
ISBN/Barcode 9780521108645
ClassificationsDewey:401.93 401.93
Audience
Professional & Vocational
Illustrations 105 Tables, unspecified

Publishing Details

Publisher Cambridge University Press
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publication Date 9 April 2009
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

This outstanding 2004 volume presents an overview of linguistic research into the acquisition of phonology. Bringing together well-known researchers in the field, it focuses on constraints in phonological acquisition (as opposed to rules), and offers concrete examples of the formalization of phonological development in terms of constraint ranking. The first two chapters situate the research in its broader context, with an introduction by the editors providing a brief general tutorial on Optimality Theory. Chapter two serves to highlight the history of constraints in studies of phonological development, which predates their current ascent to prominence in phonological theory. The remaining chapters address a number of partially overlapping themes: the study of child production data in terms of constraints, learnability issues, perceptual development and its relation to the development of production, and second-language acquisition.

Author Biography

Rene Kager is Associate Professor of Language Development at Utrecht University. His books include A Metrical Theory of Stress and Destressing in Dutch (1989), The Prosody-Morphology Interface (with H. van der Hulst and W. Zonneveld, Cambridge 1999) and Optimality Theory (Cambridge, 1999). Joe Pater is Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He has published in a number of journals including Phonology, Language Acquisition and the Journal of Child Language. Wim Zonneveld is Professor of Linguistics and Phonology at Utrecht University. He is the author of A Formal Theory of Exceptions in Generative Phonology (1978), Klemtoon & Metrische Fonologie (with M. Trommelen, Couthinho, 1989) and Prosody-Morphology Interface (with R. Kager and H. van der Hulst, Cambridge 1999).

Reviews

'... the volume has already achieved considerable success ... this volume is a must for anyone working in the area of phonological acquisition or optimality theory ... the volume would also make an excellent textbook for a graduate course ...' Journal of Phonology