Language and the Learning Curve

A New Theory of Syntactic Development

Anat Ninio

Unique in combining mainstream generative or Chomskian linguistics with learning theory, providing an original interdisciplinary approach to understanding syntactic development
Provides an unusually detailed theoretical background from linguistics, cognitive psychology, and complexity theory, thus familarizing the reader with the key theories
In every topic covered, explicit reference made to relevant work within computational linguistics, therefore providing those in developmental psychology with an exceptionally rich account of the field of language development

Language and the Learning Curve

A New Theory of Syntactic Development

Anat Ninio

Description

Language development remains one of the most hotly debated topics in the cognitive sciences. In recent years we have seen contributions to the debate from researchers in psychology, linguistics, artificial intelligence, and philosophy, though there have been surprisingly few interdisciplinary attempts at unifying the various theories. In Language and the Learning Curve, a leading researcher in the field offers a radical new view of language development. Drawing on formal linguistic theory (the Minimalist Program, Dependency Grammars), cognitive psychology (Skill Learning) computational linguistics (Zipf curves), and Complexity Theory (networks), it takes the view that syntactic development is a simple process and that syntax can be learned just like any other cognitive or motor skill.

In a thought provoking and accessible style, it develops a learning theory of the acquisition of syntax that builds on the contribution of the different source theories in a detailed and explicit manner. Each chapter starts by laying the relevant theoretical background, before examining empirical data on child language acquisition. The result is a bold new theory of the acquisition of syntax, unusual in its combination of Chomskian linguistics and learning theory. Language and the Learning Curve is an important new work that challenges many of our usual assumptions about syntactic development.

Language and the Learning Curve

A New Theory of Syntactic Development

Anat Ninio

1. Valency
1.1. Linguistic approaches to valency and syntactic structure
1.2. Implication for acquisition: syntax is simple
1.3. Developmental evidence: the earliest word combinations are syntactic mergers
1.4. Conclusions: children learn to merge two words according to their valency
2. The learning curve
2.1. The learning curve in cognitive psychology
2.2. Implication for acquisition: syntax should transfer right away
2.3. Developmental evidence: learning curves and generalizations in early syntax
2.4. Conclusions: lexical-specific syntactic frames facilitate others
3. Lexicalism
3.1. The linguistic basis to lexicalism
3.2. Implication for acquisition: no abstract schema formation
3.3. Developmental evidence: no change in the form of syntactic schemas
3.4. Conclusions: children learn a lexicalist syntax
4. Similarity
4.1. Similarity for transfer and generalization
4.2. Implication for acquisition: no role for semantic linking in learning syntax
4.3. Developmental evidence: no semantic effects in generalization and transfer
4.4. Conclusions: children utilize similarity of form to organize the process of acquisition
5. The growth of syntax
5.1. The language web
5.2. Implication for acquisition: learning means linking to the network
5.3. Developmental evidence: children recreat the global features of the maternal network
5.4. Conclusions: children join the language network

Language and the Learning Curve

A New Theory of Syntactic Development

Anat Ninio

Author Information

Anat Ninio was born in Budapest, Hungary and immigrated to Israel in 1957 as a child. Attended Hadassim Youth Village until graduating from high school. In 1965 received a B.A. in Statistics and English Linguistics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 1969 received another B.A. in Psychology, followed by an M.A. in 1970 and a Ph.D. in 1974 from the same university, the latter two under the supervision of Professor Daniel Kahneman, specializing in Cognitive Psychology. Spent a year of post-doctoral studies with Professor Jerome Bruner at Oxford, studying early language development. Since 1970 she has been on the faculty of the Hebrew University, first as junior faculty, then as a Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor and Professor. Has spent sabbatical years as a Visiting Scholar or Visiting Professor at Duke University, Durham, at the New School for Social Research in New York, at New York University, New York, at the University of Quebec at Montreal, at Harvard University, Cambridge, at Macquarie University, Sydney, and at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Has served as the Chair of the Graduate Developmental Program, and as the Chair of the Department of Psychology at Hebrew University. Served as the Chair of the Sturman Human Development Center and is currently serving as the Chair of the Martin and Vivian Levin Center for the Normal and Psychopathological Development of the Child and Adolescent at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. An Associate of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, and a member of the Unesco Institute for Education Exchange Network on Functional Literacy in Industrialized Countries. Served on the editorial board of Applied Psycholinguistics and of the Merrill-Palmer Quarterly. A member of professional societies such as the Society for Research in Child Development and of the International Association for the Study of Child Language.

Language and the Learning Curve

A New Theory of Syntactic Development

Anat Ninio

Reviews and Awards

"Interesting and provocative theoretical proposal, supported by empirical evidence...this book presents a very interesting and well-researched proposal for the acquisition of syntax...It is worth reading for anyone interested in formal modelling of language learning."--International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders

"Ninio draws together a substantial body of knowledge in an admirable attempt to combine current theories in language acquisition, While intergrating linguistic as well as psychological theories into her own framework ofsyntactic development, she rigorously disposes of cherished notions in both traditions. Her ideas are thought-provoking and critical. Thus, her theory invites students in the field of language acquisition to critically assess its central tenets with relation to usage-based accounts of language as well as generative linguistics... this is a fascinating volume that provides an intricate and stimulating read, recommended to everyone interested in integrative accounts of child language development."--Child Language Bulletin

"Language and the Learning Curve is a breakthrough achievement, elegantly and logically presented, solidly based on evidence from child language research and expertise in current theoretical linguistics."--Katherine Nelson, Department of Psychology, Graduate Center, City University of New York

"This book is very interesting for researchers of language acquisition and for specialists who work on how to make computers understand language and how to link language with broader knowledge networks."--Liu Haitao, Applied and Computational Linguistics, Communication University of China, Beijing

"Anat Ninio has forged a unique role for herself in the field of language acquisition as a creative and innovative researcher... Ninio continuously thinks across theoretical and disciplinary divides in highly constructive ways. Her book presents challenges to received wisdoms in all parts of the field and really makes one think!"--Elena Lieven, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany, and the University of Manchester, UK

"I used the book in one of my MSc courses where it was very popular. The students... were excited about the approach and welcomed it as interesting and refreshingly healthy in wedding well the theory and data and yielding specific predictions. This is one of the reasons I intend to keep using the book in the future!"--Barbora Skarabela, Lecturer, Linguistics and English Language, University of Edinburgh