32.2308, Review: Clinical Linguistics; Cognitive Science; Language Acquisition; Psycholinguistics: Rowland, Theakston, Ambridge, Twomey (2020)

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Subject: 32.2308, Review: Clinical Linguistics; Cognitive Science; Language Acquisition; Psycholinguistics: Rowland, Theakston, Ambridge, Twomey (2020)

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Date: Wed, 07 Jul 2021 16:39:34
From: Yufei Ren [ryffei at 163.com]
Subject: Current Perspectives on Child Language Acquisition

 
Discuss this message:
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Book announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/31/31-3089.html

EDITOR: Caroline F. Rowland
EDITOR: Anna L. Theakston
EDITOR: Ben  Ambridge
EDITOR: Katherine E. Twomey
TITLE: Current Perspectives on Child Language Acquisition
SUBTITLE: How children use their environment to learn
SERIES TITLE: Trends in Language Acquisition Research 27
PUBLISHER: John Benjamins
YEAR: 2020

REVIEWER: Yufei Ren, Tsinghua University

SUMMARY

The edited volume “Current Perspectives on Child Language Acquisition” is a
collection of 13 chapters, with a Forward by Michael Tomasello, followed by an
Introduction by the editors (Rowland, Caroline F.; Theakston, Anna L.;
Ambridge, Ben; Twomey, Katherine E.). The volume, which is a festschrift
dedicated to Elena Lieven in honor of her great contributions to child
language acquisition, consists of two parts. The first part concerns
child-environment interactions across different levels of acquisition, while
the second part concerns variation across individuals, languages, and cultures
in acquisition. These two themes are inspired by Lieven’s idea that “Firstly,
mothers and children have conversations. Secondly, mother-child pairs differ
markedly in how they talk to each other” (Lieven, 1978, p. 173).

The first section of the collection, which is on levels of acquisition,
consists of seven chapters. The first chapter (“Learning how to communicate in
infancy”, pp. 11-38), by Danielle Matthews, gives a brief review of
prerequisites for infant communicative development and the different roles of
mutual responsiveness in conversation between mother and infant. Infant
preparedness for communication, as shown in attention distribution, equips
them to become involved in face-to-face interaction and gain primary
intersubjectivity. Gaze, joint attention, and communicative intention are
illustrated as fundamentals for infants’ awareness of how communication works,
while ample evidence from various experimental paradigms following each of the
fundamentals are given. 

Chapter 2, “Heads, shoulders, knees and toes: what developmental robotics can
tell us about language acquisition” (pp. 39-64) by Katherine E. Twomey and
Angelo Cangelosi, is a review of developmental robotic studies. As the title
indicates, child language phenomena and acquisition are reexamined within the
emerging field of development robotics. The authors first introduce the
overall situation of child language research, most noticeable of which is its
complexity and divergence of relevant hypotheses. Due to this, the importance
of modelling and robotics are illustrated in terms of their testability and
predictability. Major components in early language acquisition are then
investigated from the perspective of developmental robotics, by directly
implementing and manipulating theoretical variables in the model, in order to
test and modify assumptions. Comparison between developmental robotics and
children’s behavior may shed light on the underlying mechanisms of various
components with regard to language acquisition, namely, gaze following, early
vocalisations, noun learning, abstract concept learning, and simple syntax
acquisition. The chapter ends with a brief conclusion.

Chapter 3, “Insights from Studying Statistical Learning”, pp. 65-90) bt
Rebecca L.A. Frost and Padraic Monaghan, is a review of how statistical
learning is applicable in investigating child language. It starts with
presenting the overall debate between nativist and empiricist accounts of
child language and moves on to new thoughts that can give insights to the
problem. A currently new idea of statistical learning yields attention as it
could account for experience-based learning; thus, it is then discussed in
information distribution within related language learning situations. How
distribution of information contributes to language learning theories is also
illustrated, e.g., speech segmentation, computational modelling, morphology,
semantic mapping, and syntactic categorization on the statistical principles
of grouping and dividing. In addition to the internal linguistic structure,
the external surroundings, i.e., the language learning situation, also
contributes to components in language development. The conclusion of the paper
is that statistical learning sheds light on the computations and developmental
trajectory of language learning, with the combined perspective of information
distribution and environmental cues. 

The main topic of chapter 4, “From grammatical categories to processes of
categorization: the acquisition of morphosyntax from a usage-based
perspective” (pp. 91-112) by Heike Behrens, is categorization in language
development. The author first points out that crucial problems in child
language research are its base and goal, offering a brief introduction to the
traditional generative and usage-based bottom-up accounts. She notes that
traditional accounts could be ill-suited for certain problems, and that
distributional patterns in input may play a role, among which the key factor
is categorization. The mechanism and significance of categories and
categorization are illustrated from a usage-based account. The major part is
the three form-function mappings within conceptual development, namely, the
categorization in conceptual development: representational redescription,
learning inflectional categories with variation, and learning case markers for
reference and syntactic role marking. The three scenarios show that form and
function develop in tandem, and that bottom-up and top-down processes
coalesce. Lastly, further studies are encouraged to look into phenomena such
as case and determiners at a finer grade of individual variation, in
interaction with other linguistic and non-linguistic features, including
cultural and social differences, so as to reach the ultimate goal of
understanding the underlying mechanisms of language development.

Chapter 5, “The retreat from transitive-causative overgeneralization errors: A
review and diary study” (pp. 113-130) by Ben Ambridge and Chloe Ambridge,
summarizes how children avoid overgeneralizing verb argument structure in
transitive-causative constructions. A review of entrenchment, preemption, and
verb-semantics hypotheses shows that these have gained support for children’s
development of verb argument structure. Turning from experimental
grammaticality judgment data to diary data, it is proposed that diary data may
not conform to the above hypotheses. The point is that the communicative
function in real interactions between children and their environment is
crucial. In the diary data, the compatibility of verbs like ‘jump’ and ‘die’
with a particular argument structure lies in real-world event semantics, with
its goal to fulfill communicative functions. The conclusion is that speakers
store every utterance they hear, along with a highly nuanced representation of
its understood semantics.

Chapter 6, “Where form meets meaning in the acquisition of grammatical
constructions” (pp. 131-154) by Anna L. Theakston, focuses on the development
of form-meaning mappings in children’s multiword utterances. The fundamental
function of grammatical construction is first reviewed. Three kinds of
grammatical errors are then examined as a window into children’s form-meaning
mappings, which are “borrowings” within a construction network, developing
slots in an insufficiently defined construction and combining elements in the
linguistic repertoire creatively for communicative intention. For each error,
detailed examples are provided. In addition, to understand the cues they use
to assign meanings, the role of semantic and pragmatic principles is
considered in children’s sentence representations. The author concludes by
emphasizing her holistic perspective and by offering future research
directions.

Chapter 7, by Silke Brandt, is entitled “Social cognitive and later language
acquisition” (pp. 155-172). Brandt first points out that language acquisition
interacts with Theory of Mind, but tells readers that the mechanisms are far
from clear. Interactions between syntax, verbal semantics, and false beliefs,
as well as their interaction from a cross-linguistic perspective with respect
to language patterns and functions are articulated, suggesting the role of
language-specific input patterns in acquisition. 

The second part of the volume focuses on levels of variation in child language
acquisition. Chapter 8, “The emergence of gesture during prelinguistic
interaction” (pp. 173-188), puts forward a dynamic and interactive account of
infant gestures. The author, Thea Cameron-Faulkner, begins with a discussion
of joint attention and triadic attention, followed by a description of
prelinguistic gesture development. To fully understand how and why gestures
develop, theoretical perspectives and cultural differences are summarized.

In Chapter 9, “Individual differences in first language acquisition and their
theoretical implications”, (pp. 189-220) by Evan Kidd, Amy Bidgood, Seamus
Donnelly, Samantha Durrant, Michelle S. Peter, and Caroline F. Rowland,
individual differences are highlighted in order to obtain crucial insights
into the language acquisition process. The chapter is divided into three
sections. Section One is a summary of how pervasive individual differences are
in different aspects of language acquisition and how important they are in
theory construction and societal terms. In Section Two, three causal factors
are implicated to explain individual differences. These are: intrinsic
differences in neurocognitive learning mechanisms, the child’s communicative
environment, and developmental cascades. In Section Three, a case study of
lexical processing efficiency illustrates the authors’ approach to individual
differences. Hypotheses are made based on the effect that lexical development
is associated with performance in looking-while-listening (LWL) tasks, while
tested in psychometric modelling, and await further evidence to unravel the
mystery of longitudinal variation. Finally, implications of the case study and
limitations of the current body of work on individual differences are
discussed.

Along with individual variation, Chapter 10, “Understanding the
cross-linguistic pattern of verb-marking error in typically developing
children and children with Developmental Language Disorder: Why the input
matters” (pp. 221-246) by Julian M. Pine, Daniel Freudenthal, and Fernand
Gobet, examines how cross-linguistic input patterns could explain Optional
Infinitive (OI) errors. This chapter first introduces verb-marking errors in
the OI stage. As the bulk of this research is conducted within the
generativist tradition, the authors consider the most popular generativist
account, namely, Wexler’s Unique Checking Constraint (UCC) approach. They then
compare an alternative input-driven account. To test theories, modelling is
based on cross-linguistic differences in children’s rate of OI errors, the
modal reference effect, the eventivity constraint, and different
constructions, all within a computational model of language learning (MOSAIC).
Next, a comparison is made between MOSAIC and the Variation Learning Model,
where the latter embodies a valuable advantage of input-driven accounts: its
gradeability in quantitative variation. The two models are illuminating but
cannot handle all variation in OI errors, something which is especially a
problem in learning English. The last piece of evidence for the input-driven
model comes from verb-marking errors in children with Developmental Language
Disorders (DLD). The chapter ends with the conclusion that input-driven
accounts of OI are superior to generativist accounts, thus, attention to
semantic-distributional properties of language input is essential.

In view of the fact that current studies on cross-linguistic accounts are
necessary yet problematic in language sampling, in Chapter 11, “Sampling
linguistic diversity to understand language development” (pp. 247-262), Sabine
Stoll suggests a maximal diversity approach to sampling bias. The importance
of a coherent theory of linguistic sampling is briefly illustrated with regard
to linguistic and cultural diversity. With the desperate need for a systematic
sampling theory, the author gives reasons to adopt a maximum diversity
approach to sampling (Stoll and Bickel, 2013) in comparison to other sampling
methods. Further details are given in favor of the maximal diversity approach;
Stoll advances input universals and supports her model through variation sets,
word patterns, and frequent frames. The conclusion to this chapter, which
emphasizes a new and systematic comparative approach, is an overview of the
status quo in cross-linguistic research.

In chapter 12, “Lessons from studying language development in bilingual
children” (pp. 263-286) by Ludovica Serratrice, looks into how bilinguals
could unfold the mechanisms of language development. The chapter begins with a
brief introduction of the significance of studying bilinguals and moves on to
an overview of some key factors related to bilingual studies, since variation
exists in areas such as personal experience and social context. To show how
bilinguals might manifest the underlying mechanisms of language development in
relation to input, three areas are taken into account. First, bilinguals
address the link between language exposure and relative lexical processing
efficiency in lexical acquisition. Second, mutual exclusivity of bilinguals is
highlighted as its interaction among pragmatics, processing skills, and
vocabulary size in lexical learning. Third, bilinguals’ syntactic
representations are explored. Finally, the author concludes by drawing
attention to the complexity of bilingual studies.

Chapter 13, “Language disorders and autism: implications for usage-based
theories of language development” (pp. 287-322), is the final chapter in the
volume. In it, Kirsten Abbot-Smith provides evidence to support usage-based
theories. The take home message is that children’s inherent ability for joint
intentionality and statistical learning, in combination with characteristics
of language input, accounts for their language development. Evidence from DLD
and Autism is adduced to support usage-based accounts. First, theories of
language development are introduced, mainly the essential mechanisms
underpinning usage-based theory. Next, the definition and properties of two
specific language neuro-developmental disorders are discussed, i.e., DLD and
Autism. As test reliability is unsolved in DLD, more investigations are
conducted on autism, concerning statistical learning, the role of language
input, shared intentionality, joint attention, and collaboration. Abbot-Smith
concludes the chapter with a brief summary of evidence from
neuro-developmental disorders and future directions for undetermined issues.

EVALUATION

This volume is of great benefit to child language acquisition scholars,
especially from the usage-based perspective. The greatest strength of this
volume is that it covers almost all emerging issues in child language
acquisition, informing readers about the overall academic picture. The two
parts, i.e., levels of acquisition and levels of variation, present a clear
and comprehensive description of child language development and its possible
underlying mechanisms. It is appropriate for both students and teachers in
this field, as well as for parents who are curious about child language. Other
readers, interested in psychology, linguistics, neurology, or computational
modelling, may find interesting topics among these chapters. 

The volume covers a wide range of topics in the field of child language
acquisition. Each chapter primarily deals with a particular aspect of language
acquisition; thus, the review equips readers with the development of research
on a given topic and its experimental paradigm. Debates and limitations are
also mentioned in various chapters, such as the debate in Chapter 4 between
advocates of nativist and usage-based accounts and the limitations of each
account in explaining different linguistic aspects. Although UG has gained
wide popularity and can successfully account for some facts, one of the most
outstanding drawbacks of UG-based accounts is their weakness in explaining
typological differences and how parameter settings change over time. Luckily,
probabilistic and cue-based models, as discussed in this volume, include
non-linguistic factors which might enlighten readers from a different
perspective. As a matter of fact, the current question in the field is not if
language acquisition begins with some innate ability; rather, the debate
concerns the nature of this knowledge and the extent of its contribution
across development (Twomey, K. E. and Cangelosi, A., p. 41). These topics are
what future work could be aimed at, leaving room for further study.

The book’s rich content, remarkable debates, and promising guidance would not
be possible without its tolerant attitude toward research. The whole volume
exhibits an open and considerate attitude, making child language development
more comprehensive, and thus, impressive. Not only linguistic aspects such as
morphosyntax (Chapter 4) and transitive-causative constructions (Chapter 5)
are discussed, but non-linguistic factors such as statistical learning
(Chapter 3) and gestures (Chapter 8) are reviewed. Statistical learning
touches both linguistic and non-linguistic factors to account for language
learning. Statistical learning posits that learners can perform powerful
computations over the distribution of information in a given input, which can
help them discern precisely how that input is structured and how it operates
(Frost and Monaghan, p. 65). Consequently, it is convincing that children rely
more on situational cues for understanding linguistic words and utterances. 

The volume clearly shows that not only commonality and universality are
significant in unraveling the mechanism of child language development, but
variations in individuals, cultures, and languages are taken into account. The
concept of degree is emphasized for future study, which means that development
is a gradual and continuous process. In addition, it shows readers how studies
on language development could be facilitated by a systematic sampling approach
tested in computer modelling. It is quite clear that language development is a
cross-disciplinary issue. The complicated, dynamic, and interactive features
of language call for coordination in order to disentangle the mystery of child
language development.

The volume’s two parts and the chapters in each part are basically
well-organized. At the beginning of each chapter, the author(s) talk about
Lieven’s generosity, kindness, and amazing contributions to the field,
reflecting a positive atmosphere of how academia should and could be. At the
end of each chapter, a summary and future guidance are provided as well.
Several chapters are coherently and cohesively organized with specific
subtitles. The goal of the review is certainly achieved by delineating
developmental robotics within a broad view of child language acquisition,
exemplifying how it deals with essential components in language acquisition.
Developmental robotics is inspiring in that it could test hypotheses about
language beyond purely linguistic factors, such as proprioceptive input. The
embodied property of human language is testified in robotics so as to give a
refreshing perspective on the long-standing debate between UG and usage-based
theories of child language acquisition. Chapter 5 seems to be indirect and
less clear-cut compared to other chapters.

As all of the chapters are written by Lieven’s current or former doctoral
students, they each focus on a different topic and employ a different writing
style. Though various topics are discussed and reviewed, there is still an
undeniable overlap among key mechanisms and hypotheses in the different
chapters. One potential problem is that, without sufficient background
knowledge, it might be difficult for the reader to map pieces of the chapters
together to obtain a coherent picture. Chapter 1, for example, is informative
as a rich supporting experiment, and phenomena are illustrated as details of
infants’ early interaction with adults. However, the logic of relatedness
between essential concepts such as gaze, joint attention, and intention is
unclear. Without the larger picture of an inner connection between theories,
the reader’s attention may go astray with abundant details. It is only in
Chapter 13 that a brief introduction to shared intentionality and joint
attentional frames is provided by a different author. It would have been
beneficial to readers if concepts discussed in a chapter were first explained,
or if the chapters with similar topics/issues had been brought together in a
bundle.

The division of the volume could be more reasonable. Levels of acquisition
(Part One) and levels of variation (Part Two) are the guiding themes
throughout all the chapters. That is to say, every chapter looks into specific
levels of acquisition under the framework of the two parts, be it from the
perspective of the lexicon, semantics, or syntax, and discussion for further
direction is offered. In the first part of the volume, the chapters are also
concerned with variation in acquisition. Likewise, the chapters in the second
part explore specific levels of language acquisition as well. To some extent,
this approach shows the importance of both commonality and variation within
different levels of acquisition for the investigation of the human mind.
Meanwhile, it may leave the impression of overlap between the two separate
parts covering different topics.

Overall, the volume achieves two important aims. On the one hand, a tribute is
paid to the scholarship of Elena Lieven, in whose honor this volume is
compiled. The two main parts of the volume are based on Lieven’s ideas, and
the chapters in each part are written by her (current or former) doctoral
students. The authors of each chapter express great appreciation to Lieven for
her great generality in all aspects, both personal and academic. Readers will
get to know this brilliant scientist and her excellent research into child
language acquisition from a usage-based account. On the other hand, this
volume is remarkable in providing readers with the necessary knowledge to
understand the past, present, and future of the vast field of child language
acquisition from a usage-based perspective. As the title of this volume shows,
it informs how children may use their environment to learn. It is the
interaction between children and their various learning contexts that leads to
their development. Its rich content covers wide topics in child language
acquisition and contributes to our understanding of the overall development in
language acquisition. 

REFERENCES

Frost, R.L.A.,  and Monaghan, P. (2020). Insights from Studying Statistical
Learning. In Rowland, C.F.  and Theakston, A.L. (eds.). “Current Perspectives
on Child Language Acquisition: How children use their environment to learn”.

Lieven, E. V. (1978). Conversations between mothers and young children:
Individual differences and their possible implications for the study of
language learning. In N. Waterson  and C. Snow (Eds.), “The development of
communication: Social and pragmatic factors in language acquisition” (pp.
173–187). New York, NY: Wiley  and Sons.

Stoll, S.,  and Bickel, B. (2013). Capturing diversity in language acquisition
research. In B. Bickel, L. A. Grenoble, D. A. Peterson,  and A. Timberlake
(Eds.), “Language typology and historical contingency: Studies in honor of
Johanna Nichols”(pp. 195–260). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.104.08slo

Twomey, K. E.  and Cangelosi, A. (2020). Heads, shoulders, knees and toes:
what developmental robotics can tell us about language acquisition. In
Rowland, C.F.  and Theakston, A.L. (eds.). “Current Perspectives on Child
Language Acquisition: How children use their environment to learn”.


ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Yufei Ren is currently a PhD student in Linguistics at Tsinghua University,
Beijing, China. She would like to find out the algorithm functioning in mind
when people are making categorization and judgments especially related to
words and language. Her main research interests include psycholinguistics,
language acquisition, and neurolinguistics. Gang Cui is a Professor at the
Department of Foreign Language, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. His
research interests are cognitive linguistics and neurolinguistics.





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