Routes to Language Studies in Honor of Melissa Bowerman [Paperback]

This volume contains contributions from leaders in the field of child language in honor of one of the preeminent scholars in the field of child language acquisition, Melissa Bowerman. Melissa Bowerman has had a profound, widespread, and enduring influence on research conducted in the field for nearly 40 years.

In addition to being a tribute to Professor Bowerman and her work, the chapters provide the most up-to-date statement of key positions by several leaders in the field of child language development. Fundamental questions in the field are explored in depth, and there are rich analyses of progress in the field in a number of areas, including learning words; crosslinguistic patterning and acquisition of lexical semantics; crosslinguistic patterning and events, paths, and causes; and influences on development.

The volume is essential reading for researchers in child language and development, linguistics, psychology, education, and speech pathology, as well as researchers and practitioners specializing in the many specific languages discussed in the book.

V.C. Mueller Gathercole, Preface. Part 1. Learning Words.D. Gentner, Personal Tribute. D. Gentner, L. Boroditsky, Early Acquisition of Nouns and Verbs: Evidence from Navajo. E. Dromi, Personal Tribute. E. Dromi, Old Data  New Eyes: Theories on Word Meaning Acquisition. Part 2. Crosslinguistic Patterning and Acquisition of Lexical Semantics. R. Berman, Personal Tribute. A. Wittek, Personal Tribute. L. de Le?n, Personal Tribute. L. de Le?n, Mayan Semantics in Early Lexical Development: The Case of the Tzotzil Verbs for Eating and Falling Down . P. Brown, B. Narasimhan, Personal Tribute. B. Narasimhan, P. Brown, Getting thló.