Routledge Unusual Productions in Phonology: Universals and Language-Specific Considerations (Language and Speech Disorders)

The universalist view that acquisition of phonology is guided by universal principles has been the dominant position for decades.  More recently, an alternative view has brought into focus the relationship between developmental markedness and language-specific input frequencies.  With entirely original chapters on non-ambient-like productions by typically and atypically developing children, and second language learners, Unusual Productions in Phonology delves deeply into these competing explanations to show that patterns observed do not uniquely lend themselves to one or the other explanations.  Rather, they point towards the need for both universal markedness and statistical input considerations in any attempted explanation. Containing contributions from leading researchers from around the world, this impressive collection is a must-have resource for any researcher, practitioner, or advanced student specializing in phonology, cognitive psychology, applied linguistics, and communication disorders. Review "Mehmet Yavaş has brought together a formidable team of scholars of phonological acquisition in this collection. Between them they have produced a ground-breaking volume on atypical phonology. This not only describes a wide range of unusual patterns but it informs our understanding of the nature of the phonological component itself." --Martin J. Ball, Linköping University, Sweden "In Unusual Productions in Phonology, internationally known experts present a new and unique examination of non-ambient phonology from multiple perspectives of typical and atypical children and second language learners. This volume is a welcome and much-needed addition to the literature." --Brian A. Goldstein, La Salle University, Philadelphia, PA, USA "Phonological acquisition―is it guided by universal principles or language-specific features? This volume, a 'must read' for those interested in child phonology, includes contributions from renowned researchers who present multiple theoretical perspectives and data from a diverse set of languages." --Carol Stoel-Gammon, University of Washington, Seattle, USA About the Author Mehmet Yavaş is a Professor of Linguistics at Florida International University. He has published numerous articles on applied phonology and is the principal author of Avaliação Fonologica da Criança (1990), a phonological assessment procedure for Brazilian Portuguese. His other publications include Phonological Disorders in Children (1991), First and Second Language Phonology (1994), Phonology: Development and Disorders (1998), and Applied English Phonology (3rd edition forthcoming).