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Tables of Contents for Mechanisms of Language Acquisition
Chapter/Section Title
Page #
Page Count
Preface
xi
PART I THE PROBLEM OF OVERGENERALIZATION
The Principle of Contrast: A Constraint on Language Acquisition
1
34
The Principle of Contrast
2
8
Contrast in Acquisition
10
9
The Role of Contrast in Morphology and Syntax
19
4
Contrast and the Course of Acquisition
23
1
Special Cases of Contrast
24
4
Conclusion
28
1
References
29
6
Simplicity and Generality of Rules in Language Acquisition
35
30
The Problem
35
3
Possible Solutions
38
17
Simplicity and Generality Reconsidered
55
7
References
62
3
What is Learned in Acquiring Word Classes-A Step Toward an Acquisition Theory
65
24
What Aspects of Distribution Are Easy to Acquire and Which Are Hard?
67
2
Noun, Verb, and Adjective
69
6
Gender and Other Arbitrary Subclasses of Nouns and Verbs
75
9
Summary and Conclusions
84
1
References
85
4
A Study in Novel Word Learning: The Productivity of the Causative
89
26
Introduction: The Problem of the Causative
89
18
Individual Differences: Corroboration from Naturalistic Results
107
2
Summary and Discussion
109
3
References
112
3
Language Acquisition and Machine Learning
115
42
Introduction
115
1
An Overview of Machine Learning Research
116
14
Machine Learning Research on Grammar Acquisition
130
15
A Research Proposal
145
7
References
152
5
PART II COMPETITION
Competition, Variation, and Language Learning
157
38
Variation Across Languages
159
23
Individual Differences
182
3
Can Our Models Deal with These Data?
185
5
References
190
5
Learning the Past Tenses of English Verbs: Implicit Rules or Parallel Distributed Processing
195
54
The Issue
195
2
The Phenomenon
197
3
The Model
200
21
The Simulations
221
24
Conclusions
245
2
References
247
2
The Competition Model
249
60
Representation in the Competition Model
251
20
Processing in the Competition Model
271
15
Learning in the Competition Model
286
17
References
303
6
PART III CONSTRAINTS ON THE FORM OF GRAMMAR
The Acquisition of Implicit Arguments and the Distinction Between Theory, Process, and Mechanism
309
36
Introduction
309
4
The State of Acquisition Research
313
1
Methodology
314
3
Grammatical Stages
317
1
A Central Question: How to Predict Ungrammaticality
318
1
Agent/Patient in a Deductive Account
318
6
Cognitive Roles and Thematic Roles
324
3
The Acquisition of Implicit Arguments
327
3
Experimental Evidence
330
8
Inferences of Agent
338
3
Conclusions
341
1
References
342
3
Parsability and Learnability
345
22
Introduction: Models for Learning and Parsing Language
345
13
Learnability, Parsability, and Locality
358
7
References
365
2
Representation Rules and Overgeneralization in Phonology
367
32
Introduction
367
2
Representation
369
2
Algebraic Against Stochastic Models
371
7
Representations, Inferencing, and Domains
378
1
Learning a Phonology
379
8
The Rule-Learning Model
387
3
Unlearning Incorrect and Overly-General Rules
390
1
Conclusions
391
4
References
395
4
The Bootstrapping Problem in Language Acquisition
399
44
Introduction
399
2
Must the Child Learn Formal Rules?
401
2
Proposed Solutions to the Bootstrapping Problem
403
3
The Semantic Bootstrapping Hypothesis
406
7
Problems with the Semantic Bootstrapping Hypothesis
413
5
What These Problems Tell us About the Child's Bootstrapping Mechanism
418
1
Constraint Satisfaction Models
419
2
What Might a Constraint Satisfaction Model for Language Acquisition Look Like?
421
6
Examples of How a Constraint Satisfaction Model Might Work
427
8
Properties of the Constraint Satisfaction Model and Its Relation to Other Models
435
3
Implications of Constraint Satisfaction Models for Language Acquisition Theory
438
1
References
439
4
COMMENTARY
443
24
Why Don't Children End Up With an Overly General Grammar?
444
13
What Drives Change in Children's Grammars?
457
6
Conclusions
463
1
References
464
3
Author Index
467
8
Subject Index
475