Gita Martohardjono & Suzanne Flynn (eds.). Language in Development: A Crosslinguistic Perspective. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2021. Pp. xi + 346.

Abstract

Language in Development: A Crosslinguistic Perspective (LD) is a volume honouring Barbara Lust, whose work spans the subfields of first and second language acquisition, research methodology, work with the hearing impaired, aphasia etc. Scholarly work like Lust’s, which is truly cross-linguistic sensu incorporation of diverse intra-linguistic but cross-subfield perspectives, is exigent in modern linguistics, where the subfields grow increasingly oblivious to the existence of other subfields. As such, second language acquisitionists will benefit from attending to what is going on with merge and phases; conversely, syntacticians will find that acquisition might be helpful in their debates on multidominance and antilocality. In such an environment, where a nascent science like linguistics faces crossroads, it is vital to sustain the value of convergence and a holistic approach. LD celebrates just that. In what follows, I overview the book and comment on select papers in the edited volume. Out of 13 chapters, omitted are those by Virginia Valian, Christina Dye & Claire Foley and Maria Blume.