The book is about the numeral classifier system and the acquisition of Japanese classifiers by Japanese children. It consists of two parts. First, it provides a general typological characterization of numeral classifier phrases and discusses problems in determining what constitutes the nature of classifiers. It also discusses the semantic properties of numeral classifiers based on an analysis of four languages from four different language families. Second, it examines the acquisitions of Japanese numeral classifiers by Japanese preschool children, ages 3 to 6, with a primary emphasis on the development of comprehension. The importance of the study is that it reveals that young children have a much greater sensitivity to the conceptual underpinnings of the numeral classifier system than was previously considered to be the case. The research results also provide a converging source of evidence that young children often come to initially grasp the structure of the world in ways that are better understood in cognitive than perceptual terms. The implications will contribute to not only the area of language acquisition but also categorization and conceptual development.

Numeral classifiers are typically used in counting or referring to objects. Numeral classifiers acquisition is of interest to researchers as researchers are able to examine how children learn to categorise and label objects in their environment using a constrained framework, and how this ability develops and becomes more refined with age. Cross-linguistic studies on numeral classifier acquisition provide researchers with greater insights into patterns that are both universal and language-specific. Malay numeral classifier acquisition has not been previously investigated. Thus, the current research aimed to investigate Malay numeral classifier acquisition to identify the acquisition patterns that are specific to Malay and also common with other numeral classifier languages previously studied.

This groundbreaking volume explores the languages of South and Southeast Asia, which differ significantly from Indo-European languages in their grammar, lexicon and spoken forms. This book raises new questions in psycholinguistics and enables readers to re-evaluate previous models in light of new research.

Abstract: For learners of Japanese, the semantics associated with numeral classifiers are non-transparent and often a source of difficulty in language acquisition. To better understand the accessibility of the semantics governing numeral classification and the metacognitive processes involved, this study examined acquisition of Japanese numeral classifiers in second language learning. Native speakers (N =48) and second language learners of Japanese (N =41) were presented with images of 20 items and asked to provide an appropriate classifier and explain their rationale. Items consisted of familiar and less familiar items in order to determine the role of frequency. That is, unfamiliar objects would rule out a reliance on previous exposure to the object while inducing participants to draw on semantic features or to supply a default counter. Results revealed that (1) non-native speakers defaulted to the most general inanimate classifier, and (2) when semantics were drawn upon, features of shape were the most salient, while size and function lacked semantic accessibility.

Second Language Acquisition : introduces the key areas in the field, including: multilingualism, the role of teaching, the mental processing of multiple languages, and patterns of growth and decline explores the key theories and debates and elucidates areas of controversy gathers together influential readings from key names in the discipline, including: Vivian Cook, William E. Dunn and James P. Lantolf, S.P. Corder, and Nina Spada and Patsy Lightbown. Written by experienced teachers and researchers in the field, Second Language Acquisition is an essential resource for students and researchers of applied linguistics.

The crosslinguistic studies of the early developmental stages of number, case, and gender in twelve typologically different languages with eight genetic affiliations follow a functional-constructivist approach. Some issues addressed are mean size of paradigms, percentage of base forms, and productivity. One of the main findings is that the typological characteristics of the language acquired influence the process of inflectional development.

First Published in 1986. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Almost all languages have some ways of categorizing nouns. Languages of South-East Asia have classifiers used with numerals, while most Indo-European languages have two or three genders. They can have a similar meaning and one can develop from the other. This book provides a comprehensive and original analysis of noun categorization devices all over the world. It will interest typologists, those working in the fields of morphosyntactic variation and lexical semantics, as well as anthropologists and all other scholars interested in the mechanisms of human cognition.