Constructing a language: a usage-based theory of language acquisition

TLDR

Tomasello synthesizes evidence from cognitive science, linguistics, and developmental psychology to argue that language acquisition does not require a dedicated instinct but is intertwined with broader cognitive abilities. The book posits that language’s core is its symbolic nature, grounded in humans’ capacity to understand intentions. Grammar develops as speakers generate constructions from repeated symbol sequences, and children learn these patterns from the surrounding linguistic input. The work presents a psychologically robust, persuasive new perspective on language acquisition.

Abstract

Drawing together a vast body of empirical research in cognitive science, linguistics, and developmental psychology, Michael Tomasello demonstrates that we don't need a self-contained instinct to explain how children learn language. Their linguistic ability is interwoven with other cognitive abilities. Tomasello argues that the essence of language is its symbolic dimension, which rests on the uniquely human ability to comprehend intention. Grammar emerges as the speakers of a language create linguistic constructions out of recurring sequences of symbols, children pick up these patterns in the buzz of words they hear around them. Constructing a Language offers a compellingly argued, psychologically sound new vision for the study of language acquisition.