Focusing on English and German examples, the study deals with the temporal interpretation of texts in non-aspect languages. The author presumes that a coherent interpretation of a text results from a complex interaction between linguistic and extra-linguistic information. The study presents a unified account of the semantics of temporality which treats the varying grammatical factors (aspectual classes, tense, and discourse structure) in a systematic way.

Second Language Acquisition and the Critical Period Hypothesis is the only book on the market to provide a diverse collection of perspectives, from experienced researchers, on the role of the Critical Period Hypothesis in second language acquisition. It is widely believed that age effects in both first and second language acquisition are developmental in nature, with native levels of attainment in both to be though possible only if learning began before the closure of a "window of opportunity" – a critical or sensitive period. These seven chapters explore this idea at length, with each contribution acting as an authoritative look at various domains of inquiry in second language acquisition, including syntax, morphology, phonetics/phonology, Universal Grammar, and neurofunctional factors. By presenting readers with an evenly-balanced take on the topic with viewpoints both for and against the Critical Period Hypothesis, this book is the ideal guide to understanding this critical body of research in SLA, for students and researchers in Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition.

This book was first published in 2007. The anecdotal view of language acquisition is that children learn language with apparent ease, no instruction and in very little time, while adults find learning a new language to be cognitively challenging, labour intensive and time-consuming. In this book Herschensohn examines whether early childhood is a critical period for language acquisition after which individuals cannot learn a language as native speakers. She argues that a first language is largely susceptible to age constraints, showing major deficits past the age of twelve. Second-language acquisition also shows age effects, but with a range of individual differences. The competence of expert adult learners, the unequal achievements of child learners of second languages, and the lack of consistent evidence for a maturational cut-off, all cast doubt on a critical period for second-language acquisition.

This New York Times bestseller is an exciting and fearless investigation of language from the author of Rationality, The Better Angels of Our Nature and The Sense of Style and Enlightenment Now. "Curious, inventive, fearless, naughty." --The New York Times Book Review Bestselling author Steven Pinker possesses that rare combination of scientific aptitude and verbal eloquence that enables him to provide lucid explanations of deep and powerful ideas. His previous books - including the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Blank Slate - have catapulted him into the limelight as one of today's most important popular science writers. In The Stuff of Thought, Pinker presents a fascinating look at how our words explain our nature. Considering scientific questions with examples from everyday life, The Stuff of Thought is a brilliantly crafted and highly readable work that will appeal to fans of everything from The Selfish Gene and Blink to Eats, Shoots & Leaves.

Including contributions from a team of world-renowned international scholars, this volume is a state-of-the-art survey of second language speech research, showcasing new empirical studies alongside critical reviews of existing influential speech learning models. It presents a revised version of Flege's Speech Learning Model (SLM-r) for the first time, an update on a cornerstone of second language research. Chapters are grouped into five thematic areas: theoretical progress, segmental acquisition, acquiring suprasegmental features, accentedness and acoustic features, and cognitive and psychological variables. Every chapter provides new empirical evidence, offering new insights as well as challenges on aspects of the second language speech acquisition process. Comprehensive in its coverage, this book summarises the state of current research in second language phonology, and aims to shape and inspire future research in the field. It is an essential resource for academic researchers and students of second language acquisition, applied linguistics and phonetics and phonology.

This book is the ninth volume of the Transactions on Rough Sets series. The 26 papers in it introduce new advances in the foundations and applications of artificial intelligence, engineering, image processing, logic, mathematics, medicine, music, and science.

This volume is the long-awaited revision of the only textbook on primary language instruction written with classroom teachers of deaf and hard-of-hearing children (TODs) in mind. It builds on the work of the previous edition, describing the experiences of four real TODs and demonstrates practical application of the concepts discussed. Up-to-date chapters on theory of language learning, assessment, and evidence-based practice supplement specific examples of real cases in the field. Avoiding promotion of one teaching philosophy over another, this volume demonstrates the commonalities across classroom language instruction approaches for DHH children and helps guide teachers to enhance learning outcomes.

"The study of language is pertinent to many fields of inquiry. It is relevant to psychology, anthropology, philosophy, and medicine. It encroaches upon the humanities, as well as upon the social and natural sciences. We may pursue investigations that concentrate on what man has done with or to specific languages; or we may regard language as a natural phenomenon- an aspect of his biological nature, to be studied in the same manner as, for instance, his anatomy. Which of these approaches is to be chosen is entirely a matter of personal curiosity. This book is concerned with the biological aspects of language." -- Preface

The aim of the book is to sensitize physicians and researchers to the important long-term health effects of early, persistent, and severe trauma. The author, an internist, rheumatologist, and basic researcher in psychoneuroimmunology, shows connections between adverse childhood experiences and typical adult sequelae. After early traumatic experiences and childhood stress, there is a higher incidence of mental illness, chronic pain, sleep disorders, dental problems, obesity, cardiovascular disease, asthma, diabetes mellitus and chronic inflammation. A selection of diseases unmistakably demonstrate the long-term consequences of early childhood trauma. These childhood experiences create a kind of long-term programming that has a negative effect in adulthood. From his psychoneuroimmunological perspective, Rainer Straub identifies four factors that link the brain to the immune system and are involved in chronic immune activation: direct connectors originating from the brain, indirect connectors functioning through hormonal and neuronal pathways, extracorporeal (the environmental factors) and pleiotropic connectors (genetic factors). The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence. A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content.