Listen to Your Child: A Parent's Guide to Children's Language

by David Crystal

Learning to talk is probably the greatest milestone in a child's a deeply moving and often hilarious experience for all parents.In this charming and informative book, Britain's leading expert on the English language talks you through every stage in your child's language development. Over thirty years after its original publication, this new and updated edition of Listen to your Child shows us that while the world our children are growing up in may have changed, one thing has parents still need to listen.Gathering decades of research from psychologists and linguists, Professor Crystal shows how the more we know about language acquisition - from 'cooking' and 'babbling' to melodic 'scribble talk' and simple words and then to incessant chatter - the more there is to delight in.From birth to the early school years, Listen to your Child provides a painless introduction to the study of child language acquisition as well as invaluable advice for parents.

Genres: Linguistics, Parenting, Psychology, Nonfiction, Language, Childrens

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

David Crystal works from his home in Holyhead, North Wales, as a writer, editor, lecturer, and broadcaster. Born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland in 1941, he spent his early years in Holyhead. His family moved to Liverpool in 1951, and he received his secondary schooling at St Mary's College. He read English at University College London (1959-62), specialised in English language studies, did some research there at the Survey of English Usage under Randolph Quirk (1962-3), then joined academic life as a lecturer in linguistics, first at Bangor, then at Reading. He published the first of his 100 or so books in 1964, and became known chiefly for his research work in English language studies, in such fields as intonation and stylistics, and in the application of linguistics to religious, educational and clinical contexts, notably in the development of a range of linguistic profiling techniques for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. He held a chair at the University of Reading for 10 years, and is now Honorary Professor of Linguistics at the University of Wales, Bangor. These days he divides his time between work on language and work on internet applications.

source: http://www.davidcrystal.com/

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Accurate and entertaining description of child development. Slightly old-fashioned (there's a wonderful description of the best way to record with cassette tapes) but this also means it is refreshingly interested ONLY on educating and involving parents in a fascinating process instead of trying to sell something. Should also be required reading for all teachers (it would make being a speech therapist a lot easier!)

[Paul Hebron · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very straightforward guide to the first years of language development from birth to the early years. Detailed but pleasingly concise, with the experience of an expert to back it up. I had a quite old copy where the suggestions for parents to create audio records of their children by splicing tape loops together seems, ambitious? I would be keen to see if the language projects you can do with your children have been updated in later editions. A fine read and informative.

[Theo Kokonas · Rating 4 out of 5]

a very informative book, gave me plenty of insights into the developmental stages of a child's communication. it's a little dated, given the number of pages dedicated to showing the user how to tape record your child's vocal attempts.

[Steven Kolber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Practical, fun and interesting.

[Charlotte Corrigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Crystal is a genius! This book helped me to gain a better insight into Child Language Acquisition for my A-level in which I gained an A*.

[unperspicacious · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a new parent I've finally come to appreciate the exhausting enormity of the emotional rollercoaster that lies ahead. But to witness, and coax, language development in the little one is without doubt one of the high points of this winding, amazing journey. This book, while rooted in the tape-deck age, is an absolute joy to read - the words just leap off the page! I'll have to come back to this book repeatedly as our kid grows...it has worked well so far as both guidebook for the uninitiated and sheer entertainment.

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My wife and mother of our 5-month old boy purchased an old second-hand copy of this for me...it's a no-brainer for her as she's in the language development profession, but perfect for dummies like myself. Nothing like having a kid of one's own to finally work out what's the big deal about linguistics in general...

[Colin Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little book on how young children learn to speak and what to expect when. Not too academic - aimed at parents. Would be interesting to read a more detailed book on the same topic.

[Dancingsocks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating - will be revisiting as my little boy gets older.