Language Acquisition and Learnability

by Stefano Bertolo

Overview

Language Acquisition and Learnability is an accessible introduction to learnability theory and its interactions with linguistic theories. Working within the Principles and Parameters framework, the book surveys general concepts from formal learning theory and complexity theory, together with important findings from developmental psycholinguistics, historical linguistics and language processing. Fully integrated, and complete with a large number of exercises to test readers on their understanding of the material, this book will become essential reading for students and researchers in linguistic theory.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521641494
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	05/17/2001
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.63(d)

Table of Contents

1. A brief overview of learnability S. Bertolo; 2. Learnability and the acquisition of syntax M. Atkinson; 3. Language change and learnability I. Roberts; 4. Information theory, complexity and linguistic descriptions R. Clark; 5. The structural triggers learner W. G. Sakas and J. D. Fodor.

Editorial Reviews

"...the book is very welcome. It remarks connections between very different fields of research and should be carefully considered by scholars working in fields such as theoretical linguistics, historical and comparative linguistics, psycholinguistics, learnability theory or computational and statistical approaches to language acquisition, among others." Canadian Journal of Linguistics

From the Publisher