
The Lexicon in Acquisition
Eve V. Clark(Author)
Cambridge University Press
Published on 16. February 1995
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-0-521-48464-0 (ISBN)
Description
Without words, children can't talk about people, places, things, actions, relations, or states, and they have no grammatical rules. Without words, there would be no sound structure, no word structure, and no syntax. The lexicon is central in language, and in language acquisition. Eve Clark argues for this centrality and for the general principles of conventionality and contrast at the core of language acquisition. She looks at the hypotheses children draw on about possible word meanings, and how they map their meanings on to forms. The book is unusual in dealing with data from a wide variety of languages, in its emphasis on the general principles children rely on as they analyse complex word forms, and in the broad perspective it takes on lexical acquisition.
Reviews / Votes
'A landmark book in the study of the lexicon, with special significance for acquisition theory. The book will be of interest to a broad range of linguists, psycholinguists, and developmental psychologists, as well as people working in other areas of cognitive science and education.' Dan I. Slobin, University of California, Berkeley 'A contribution of great interest; required reading for everyone in the field of language acquisition who is interested in the lexicon.' Lila R. Gleitman, University of PennsylvaniaMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
522 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-48464-0 (9780521484640)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Eve V. Clark
The Lexicon in Acquisition
Book
09/1993
Cambridge University Press
€43.33
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Previous edition

Eve V. Clark
The Lexicon in Acquisition
Book
09/1993
Cambridge University Press
€43.33
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Content
1. The lexicon: words old and new; Part I. Lexical Acquisition: 2. Early lexical development; 3. The mapping problem; 4. Conventionality and contrast; 5. Pragmatic principles and acquisition; 6. Transparency and simplicity; 7. Productivity; Part II. Case Studies of Lexical Innovation: 8. Words for things; 9. More words for things; 10. Words for agents and instruments; 11. Words for actions; 12. Words for undoing actions; Part III. Conclusion: 13. Issues for acquisition; Bibliography; Index of names; Index of subjects.