Overview

Corpus research forms the backbone of research on children's language development. Leading researchers in the field present a survey on the history of data collection, different types of data, and the treatment of methodological problems. Morphologically and syntactically parsed corpora allow for the concise explorations of formal phenomena, the quick retrieval of errors, and reliability checks. New probabilistic and connectionist computations investigate how children integrate the multiple sources of information available in the input, and new statistical methods compute rates of acquisition as well as error rates dependent on sample size. Sample analyses show how multi-modal corpora are used to investigate the interaction of discourse and linguistic structure, how cross-linguistic generalizations for acquisition can be formulated and tested, and how individual variation can be explored. Finally, ways in which corpus research interacts with computational linguistics and experimental research are presented.

Full Product Details

Author:   Heike Behrens (University of Basel)
Publisher:   John Benjamins Publishing Co
Imprint:   John Benjamins Publishing Co
Volume:   6
Weight:   0.625kg
ISBN:  

9789027234766

ISBN 10:   9027234760
Pages:   234
Publication Date:   09 April 2008
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Awaiting stock  
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Table of Contents

1. List of contributors; 2. Preface; 3. Corpora in language acquisition research: History, methods, perspectives (by Behrens, Heike); 4. How big is big enough? Assessing the reliability of data from naturalistic samples (by Rowland, Caroline F.); 5. Core morphology in child directed speech: Crosslinguistic corpus analyses of noun plurals (by Ravid, Dorit); 6. Learning the English auxiliary: A usage-based approach (by Lieven, Elena); 7. Using corpora to examine discourse effects in syntax (by Allen, Shanley); 8. Integration of multiple probabilistic cues in syntax acquisition (by Monaghan, Padraic); 9. Enriching CHILDES for morphosyntactic analysis (by MacWhinney, Brian); 10. Exploiting corpora for language acquisition research (by Demuth, Katherine); 11. References; 12. Index

Reviews

As already stated, this volume is aimed at a fairly narrow audience and the quality of the work presented should make it a valuable resource for this intended audience. Apart from very infrequent and insignificant spelling errors all papers are well written and researched. I would have preferred to have reference sections at the end of each chapter as opposed to one general reference section for the entire volume. I am also somewhat concerned about the fact that virtually all authors defend 'usage based' models of acquisition and believe that the inclusion of at least one or two chapters defending an opposing view (UG) might have resulted in a book that better reflects the still existing diversity of language acquisition views and engages the dialogue with proponents of such views. But this does not diminish the quality of the work presented and I would recommend the volume without hesitation. -- Christina Behme, Dalhousie University, in Metapsychology Reviews Online, 2009

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