The Prism of Grammar

Name: The Prism of Grammar
Price: 85 AUD
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ISBN: 9780262512589

How Child Language Illuminates Humanism

Tom Roeper (University of Massachusetts), Samuel Jay Keyser

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English

Bradford Books
13 February 2009

Language acquisition; Child & developmental psychology

Series: The Prism of Grammar

Exploring the creativity of mind through children's language- how the tiniest utterances can illustrate the simple but abstract principles behind modern grammar-and reveal the innate structures of the mind.

Every sentence we hear is instantly analyzed by an inner grammar; just as a prism refracts a beam of light, grammar divides a stream of sound, linking diverse strings of information to different domains of mind-memory, vision, emotions, intentions. In The Prism of Grammar, Tom Roeper brings the abstract principles behind modern grammar to life by exploring the astonishing intricacies of child language. Adult expressions provide endless puzzles for the child to solve. The individual child's solutions (""Don't uncomfortable the cat"" is one example) may amuse adults but they also reveal the complexity of language and the challenges of mastering it. The tiniest utterances, says Roeper, reflect the whole mind and engage the child's free will and sense of dignity. He offers numerous and novel ""explorations""-many at the cutting edge of current work-that anyone can try, even in conversation around the dinner table. They elicit how the child confronts ""recursion""-the heartbeat of grammar-through endless possessives (""John's mother's friend's car""), mysterious plurals, contradictory adjectives, the marvels of ellipsis, and the deep obscurity of reference (""there it is, right here""). They are not tests of skill; they are tools for discovery and delight, not diagnosis. Each chapter on acquisition begins with a commonsense look at how structures work-moving from the simple to the complex-and then turns to the literary and human dimensions of grammar. One important human dimension is the role of dialect in society and in the lives of children. Roeper devotes three chapters to the structure of African-American English and the challenge of responding to linguistic prejudice. Written in a lively style, accessible and gently provocative, The Prism of Grammar is for parents and teachers as well as students-for everyone who wants to understand how children gain and use language-and anyone interested in the social, philosophical, and ethical implications of how we see the growing mind emerge.

By: Tom Roeper (University of Massachusetts)
Foreword by: Samuel Jay Keyser
Imprint: Bradford Books
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 178mm, Spine: 22mm
Weight: 567g
ISBN: 9780262512589
ISBN 10: 0262512580
Series: The Prism of Grammar
Pages: 374
Publication Date: 13 February 2009
Recommended Age: From 18 years
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Further / Higher Education , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

CONTENTS:Foreword by Samuel Jay KeyserPrefaceGratitude xiii I Goals and Grand Perspectives 1 1 Setting the StageAnimating Ideas, Ambitious Goals, and Ardent Commitments2 Grammar's Gift to Our Image of Human Nature 19 II Why Language Acquisition Is a Challenge to the Child 31 3 First WordsGlimpses of the Mind 33 4 First PhrasesGlimpses of Grammar 49 5 The Absence of Absolute Reference 63 6 The Heartbeat of GrammarRecursion 105 7 The Structure of Silence 127 8 The Pantheon of PluralsFrom Possible Worlds to the Ethics of Our World 159 III Microdialects and Language Diversity 199 9 Language VariationEmotion Overtakes Structure 201 10 Are We All Bilingual? 211 11 The Riches of African-American English 227 IV Finding Philosophy and Morality in Every Sentence 241 12 Philosophical ConsequencesThe Path from Mathematics to Human Dignity 243 13 False False Belief Belief and True False Belief Belief 255 14 The Ideas behind the Concept of ''Idea'' 281 15 In Defense of Dignity 293 Afterword 305 Notes 307 References 323 Explorations 337 Index

Tom Roeper, Professor of Linguistics at the University of Massachusetts, has studied child language for thirty years, and is a co-author of the Diagnostic Evaluation of Language Variation (DELV), co-editor of Studies in Theoretical Psycholinguistics, and one of the founding editors of Language Acquisition. He has worked on numerous grants from National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health in the US and other national science foundations in Canada, Europe and Asia. He has lectured all over the world on these topics.

Reviews for The Prism of Grammar: How Child Language Illuminates Humanism

"""For three decades, Tom Roeper has been one of the most acute observers of semantic and grammatical subtleties in children's speech, and one of the most creative thinkers on how to connect linguistic theory with language acquisition research. It is nice to have his insights collected into a book, which will be a source of ideas for years to come."" Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of The Language Instinct, Words and Rules, and The Stuff of Thought ""It has been said that as children we wrestle with the deepest mysteries of our timethe mind-body problem, the existence of Godbut that adulthood's common emphasis on conformity purges this intellectual curiosity. In Tom Roeper's able hands we are treated to a journey back to this period of intense curiosity and mental growthone characterized by an exuberance of questions and comments, each reflecting intricate computations of the mind. But Roeper goes further and, with great courage and insight, attempts to show how the study of child language illuminates a much broader range of topics, from our capacity for free will to our often unconscious prejudices."" Marc D. Hauser , Harvard College Professor, author of Moral Minds"