Comprehension, Production, and Meaning

The study of morphology, and more specifically the
English plural, encompasses many aspects of
language, such as phonology and semantics. This book
examines these complexities in a variety of studies
with two-year-old-children and presents a unified
description of the acquisition of the English
plural. First, the slow, protracted course of
acquisition is documented and evidence is presented
that suggests children know much about when to use
the English plural before they use it. Children''s
comprehension of the English plural far surpasses
their production, a difference that is
linked to frequency effects from the environment.
Children''s plural productions are shown to
be tied to the meaning of the plural as children are
more likely to produce the plural of nouns when
there are more instances and when they are
identical. Spontaneous speech of parents of two-
year-old children demonstrates children are not
merely mimicking the input. The research presented
here attempts to connect the many
complexities of language into a cohesive description
of the progression and factors that influence
children s acquisition of the English plural.

Autorentext
Jennifer A. Zapf, Ph.D. Studied Psychology and Cognitive Science at Indiana University. Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Klappentext
The study of morphology, and more specifically the English plural, encompasses many aspects of language, such as phonology and semantics. This book examines these complexities in a variety of studies with two-year-old-children and presents a unified description of the acquisition of the English plural. First, the slow, protracted course of acquisition is documented and evidence is presented that suggests children know much about when to use the English plural before they use it. Children's comprehension of the English plural far surpasses their production, a difference that is linked to frequency effects from the environment. Children's plural productions are shown to be tied to the meaning of the plural as children are more likely to produce the plural of nouns when there are more instances and when they are identical. Spontaneous speech of parents of two- year-old children demonstrates children are not merely mimicking the input. The research presented here attempts to connect the many complexities of language into a cohesive description of the progression and factors that influence children's acquisition of the English plural.