Showing papers in "Language in 1999"

How the Mind Works

Abstract: Standard equipment thinking machines revenge of the nerds the mind's eye good ideas hotheads family values the meaning of life.

Handbook of second language acquisition

Abstract: W.C. Ritchie and T.K. Bhatia, Second Language Acquisition: Introduction, Foundations, and Overview. Research and Theoretical Issues in Second Language Acquisition: K.R. Gregg, The Logical and Developmental Problems of Second Language Acquisition. Issues of Maturation and Modularity in Second Language Acquisition: L. White, Universal Grammar and Second Language Acquisition: Current Trends and New Directions. S. Flynn, A Parameter-Setting Approach to Second Language Acquisition. J. Schachter, Maturation and the Issue of Universal Grammar in Second Language Acquisition. F.R. Eckman, A Functional-Typological Approach to Second Language Acquisition Theory. B. McLaughlin and R. Heredia, Information-Processing Approaches to Research on Second Language Acquisition and Use. D. Preston, Variationist Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition. Second Language Speech and the Influence of the First Language: J. Leather and A. James, Second Language Speech. S. Gass, Second Language Acquisition and Linguistic Theory: The Role of Language Transfer. Research Methodology and Applications: D. Nunan, Issues in Second Language Acquisition Research: Examining Substance and Procedure. A. Sorace, The Use of Acceptability Judgments in Second Language Acquisition Research. Modality and the Linguistic Environment in Second Language Acquisition: M.H. Long, The Role of the Linguistic Environment in Second Language Acquisition. G.P. Berent, The Acquisition of English Syntax by Deaf Learners. The Neuropsychology of Second Language Acquisition and Use: L.K. Obler and S. Hannigan, Neurolinguistics of Second Language Acquisition and Use. Language Contact and its Consequences: R.W. Anderson and Y. Shirai, The Primacy of Aspect in First and Second Language Acquisition: The Pidgin-Creole Connection. S. Romaine, Bilingualism. H.W. Seliger, Primary Language Attrition in the Context of Bilingualism. T.K. Bhatia and W.C. Ritchie, Bilingual Language Mixing, Universal Grammar, and Second Language Acquisition. Glossary. Author Index. Subject Index.

Grammatical constructions and linguistic generalizations: The What's X doing Y? construction

Abstract: Our goal is to present, by means of the detailed analysis of a single grammatical problem, some of the principal commitments and mechanisms of a grammatical theory that assigns a central role to the notion of GRAMMATICAL CONSTRUCTION . To adopt a constructional approach is to undertake a commitment in principle to account for the entirety of each language. This means that the relatively general patterns of the language, such as the one licensing the ordering of a finite auxiliary verb before its subject in English, often known as SAI, and the highly idiomatic patterns, like kick the bucket , stand on an equal footing as data for which the grammar must account. An explicit grammar that covers the full range of constructions must represent all constructions, of whatever degree of generality or idiomaticity, in a common notation and must provide an explicit account of how each sentence of a language is licensed by a subset of the leaves of the inheritance hierarchy of constructions which constitutes the grammar of that language. Language-internal generalizations are captured by inheritance relations among constructions. Cross-language generalizations are captured by the architecture of the representation system and by the sharing of abstract constructions across languages. The particular grammatical phenomenon used here to introduce construction grammar (CG) is the construction that licenses the surprising syntactic and semantic features of a sentence like What are they doing resuscitating constructions?

Language Ideologies: Practice and Theory

Abstract: "Language ideologies" refers to the representation, whether explicit or implicit, of the intersection of language and human beings in a social world. This collection of essays examines definitions and conceptions of language in a wide range of settings, focusing on how such defining activity organizes individuals, institutions, and the relationships between them. The contributors look at language and its role in such fundamental social institutions as religious ritual, child socialization, gender relations, the nation-state, schooling and the law, and in doing so, link language to larger issues of identity, aesthetics, morality, and epistemology. This will be the first collection of work in this rapidly growing field.

Japanese/Korean linguistics

Abstract: Japanese and Korean are typologically quite similar, so a linguistic phenomenon in one language often has a counterpart in the other. The papers in this volume are intended to further collective and collaborative research in both languages. The contributors discuss aspects of language acquisition, discourse, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, phonology, morphology, typology, sociolinguistics, and psycholinguistics. The papers were presented at the Southern California Japanese/Korean Linguistics Conference in September 1991. Contributors to this volume are Patricia M. Clancy, Seiko Yamaguchi Fujii, Shoichi Iwasaki, Kyu-hyun Kim, Yoshiko Matsumoto, Shigeko Okamoto, Sung-Ock S. Sohn, Kyung-Hee Suh, Eunjoo Han, Jongho Jun, Ongmi Kang, David James Silva, Noriko Akatsuka, Shoji Azuma, Soonja Choi, Bruce L. Derwing, Yeo Bom Yoon, Sook Whan Cho, Tsuyoshi Ono, Hiroko Yamashita, Laurie Stowe, Mineharu Nakayama, Ruriko Kawashima, Masanori Nakamaura, Shin Watanabe, Dong-In Cho, Stanley Dubinsky, Hiroto Hoshi, Yasua Ishii, Hisatsugu Kitahara, Masatoshi Koizumi, Jae Hong Lee, Sookhee Lee, Young-Suk Lee, and Shigeo Tonoike.

The handbook of phonetic sciences

Abstract: Part I: Experimental Phonetics: 1. Laboratory techniques for investigating speech articulation: Maureen Stone (Johns Hopkins University). 2. The aerodynamics of speech: Christine H. Shadle (University of Southampton). 3. Acoustic phonetics: Osamu Fujimura and Donna Erickson (Ohio State University). 4. Investigating the physiology of laryngeal structures: Hajime Hirose (Kitasato University, Japan). 5. Instrumental techniques for linguistic phonetic fieldwork: Peter Ladefoged (UCLA). 6. Experimental design and statistics in speech science: William M. Shearer (Northern Illinois University). Part II: Biological Perspectives: 7. Motor speech disorders: Gary Weismer (University of Wisconsin). 8. Brain functions underlying speech: Ray D. Kent and Kristin Tjaden (University of Wisconsin-Madison). 9. Organic variation of the vocal apparatus: Janet MacKenzie Beck (Queen Margaret College, Edinburgh). Part III: Models of Speech Production and Perception: 10. Acquisition of speech: Peter F. MacNeilage (University of Texas at Austin). 11. Articulatory processes: Joseph S. Perkell (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). 12. Coarticulation and connected speech processes: Edda Farnetani (CNR, Padova). 13. Theories and models of speech production: Anders Lofqvist (Haskins Laboratories, Yale). 14. Voice source variation: Ailbhe Ni Chasaide and Christer Gobl (Trinity College, Dublin). 15. Articulatory/ acoustic/ auditory relationships: Kenneth N. Stevens (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). 16. Auditory neural processing of speech: Bertrand Delgutte (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). 17. Aspects of auditory processing related to speech perception: Brian C. J. Moore (University of Cambridge). 18. Cognitive processes in speech perception: James M. McQueen and Anne Cutler (Max-Planck-Institute, Nijmegen). Part IV: Linguistic Phonetics: 19. Linguistic phonetic descriptions: Peter Ladefoged (UCLA). 20. Phonetic universals: Ian Maddieson (UCLA). 21. Prosody of speech: melody and rhythm: Sieb Nooteboom (Rijkuniversiteit te Utrecht). 22. The relation between phonetics and phonology: John J. Ohala (University of California at Berkeley). Part V: Speech Technology: 23. Speech signal processing: Johan Liljencrants (Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm). 24. Some approaches to automatic speech recognition: William A. Ainsworth (University of Keele). 25. Speaker recognition and forensic phonetics: Francis Nolan (University of Cambridge). 26. Speech synthesis: Rolf Carlson and Bjorn Granstrom (Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm). Bibliography. Index.

American Indian languages : the historical linguistics of Native America

Abstract: Native American languages are spoken from Siberia to Greenland, and from the Arctic to Tierra del Fuego; they include the southernmost language of the world (Yaghan) and some of the northernmost (Eskimoan). This work takes stock of what is currently known about the history of Native American languages and in the process examines the state of American Indian historical linguistics, and the success and failure of its various methodologies. There is remarkably little consensus in the field, largely due to the 1987 publication of "Language in the Americas" by Joseph Greenberg. He claimed to trace a historical relation between all American Indian languages of North and South America, implying that most of the Western Hemisphere was settled by a single wave of immigration from Asia. This has caused intense controversy and Campbell intends this volume to be a response to Greenberg. Finally, Campbell demonstrates that the historical study of Native American languages has always relied on up-to-date methodology and theoretical assumptions and did not, as is often believed, lag behind the European historical linguistic tradition.

Tutorials in bilingualism : psycholinguistic perspectives

Abstract: Contents: Preface. A.M.B. de Groot, J.F. Kroll, Introduction and Overview. Part I: Second Language Acquisition. B. Harley, W. Wang, The Critical Period Hypothesis: Where Are We Now? N.C. Ellis, N. Laporte, Contexts of Acquisition: Effects of Formal Instruction and Naturalistic Exposure on Second Language Acquisition. N. Segalowitz, Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition. B. MacWhinney, Second Language Acquisition and the Competition Model. Part II: Representation, Comprehension, and Production in Two Languages. M. Chapnik Smith, How Do Bilinguals Access Lexical Information? J.F. Kroll, A.M.B. de Groot, Lexical and Conceptual Memory in the Bilingual: Mapping Form to Meaning in Two Languages. N. Poulisse, Language Production in Bilinguals. F. Grosjean, Processing Mixed Language: Issues, Findings, and Models. A.Y. Durgunog(u)lu, Bilingual Reading: Its Components, Development, and Other Issues. Part III: The Consequences of Bilingualism for Thought and for Special Forms of Language Processing. V. Cook, The Consequences of Bilingualism for Cognitive Processing. R. Dufour, Sign Language and Bilingualism: Modality Implications for Bilingual Language Representation. M. Paradis, The Cognitive Neuropsychology of Bilingualism.

Learning to spell : research, theory, and practice across languages

Abstract: Contents: C.A. Perfetti, L. Rieben, M. Fayol, Introduction. Part I:Theoretical Foundations: Writing Systems, Psycholinguistics, and Neuropsychology. J-P. Jaffre, From Writing to Orthography: The Functions and Limits of the Notion of System. C.A. Perfetti, The Psycholinguistics of Spelling and Reading. P. Zesiger, M-P. de Partz, The Cognitive Neuropsychology of Spelling. Part II:The Acquisition of Spelling. R. Treiman, M. Cassar, Spelling Acquisition in English. H. Wimmer, How Learning to Spell in German Differs From Learning to Spell in English. C. Totereau, M-G. Thevenin, M. Fayol, The Development of the Understanding of Number Morphology in Written French. J. Alegria, P. Mousty, Lexical Spelling Processes in Reading Disabled French-Speaking Children. L. Allal, Learning to Spell in the Classroom. T. Nunes, P. Bryant, M. Bindman, Spelling and Grammar--the Necsed Move. Part III:The Relationship Between Spelling and Reading. A.M.T. Bosman, G.C. Van Orden, Why Spelling Is More Difficult Than Reading. I. Berent, R. Frost, The Inhibition of Polygraphic Consonants in Spelling Hebrew: Evidence for Recurrent Assembly of Spelling and Phonology in Visual Word Recognition. J.E. Gombert, P. Bryant, N. Warrick, Children's Use of Analogy in Learning to Read and to Spell. L.C. Ehri, Learning to Read and Learning to Spell Are One and the Same, Almost. N. Ellis, Interactions in the Development of Reading and Spelling: Stages, Strategies and Exchange of Knowledge. L. Rieben, M. Saada-Robert, Relations Between Word Search Strategies and Word Copying Strategies in Children Aged 5-6 Years. P.H.K. Seymour, Foundations of Orthographic Development. L. Sprenger-Charolles, L.S. Siegel, D. Bechennec, Beginning Reading and Spelling Acquisition in French: A Longitudinal Study.

Handbook of Phonological Development: From the Perspective of Constraint-Based Nonlinear Phonology

Abstract: Introduction. Worldviews for Phonology. Phonological Representations and Processes. Constraints. Segmental Development. Prosodic Development. Sequences of Elements. Theory and Application: Not Just for the Clinician. Acquisition of Adult Alternations. Discussion and Conclusions. Appendix A: International Phonetic Association (1989) Symbols Used in This book. Appendix B: The Features Used in This Book. Appendix C: List of the Constraints of Optimality Theory. Appendix D: Practical Guidelines for Using Constraints. References. Index.

Processing complexity and filler-gap dependencies across grammars

Abstract: This article examines crosslinguistic variation in FILLER-GAP DEPENDENCIES (wH-questions and relative clauses) from a processing perspective, and integrates research findings from psycholinguistics, language typology and generative grammar. Numerous implicational universals and hierarchies are proposed that receive a natural explanation in terms of processing and complexity. Filler-gap domains are complex in proportion to their size and in proportion to the amount of simultaneous syntactic and semantic processing that is required in addition to gap identification. They are simplified by making the gap easier to identify and process, or by avoiding a gap structure altogether. When grammatical variation is viewed from this perspective many descriptive insights and implicational patterns can be motivated that have either been stipulated or that have gone unnoticed hitherto. This approach provides an alternative to the assumption of innate parameterized subjacency constraints in this area.*

How Children Constrain Their Argument Structure Constructions.

Abstract: We tested two hypotheses about how English-speaking children learn to avoid making argument structure errors such as Don't giggle me. The first is that children base their usage of verbs on membership in narrow-range semantic classes (Pinker 1989). The second is that children make use of indirect negative evidence in the form of alternative expressions that preempt tendencies to overgeneralize. Ninety-six children (32 each at 2.5, 4.5, and 6/7 years of age) were introduced to two nonce verbs, one as a transitive verb and one as an intransitive verb. One verb was from a semantic class that can be used both transitively and intransitively while the other was from a fixed transitivity class. Half of the children were given preempting alternatives with both verbs; for example, they heard a verb in a simple transitive construction (as in Ernie's meeking the car) and then they also heard it in a passive construction-which enabled them to answer the question What's happening with the car?' with It's getting meeked (rather than generalizing to the intransitive construction with It's meeking). We found empirical support for the constraining role of verb classes and of preemption, but only for children 4.5 years of age and older. Results are discussed in terms of a model of syntactic development in which children begin with lexically specific linguistic constructions and only gradually learn to differentiate verbs as lexical items from argument structure constructions as abstract linguistic entities.

A language of our own : the genesis of Michif, the mixed Cree-French language of the Canadian Métis

Abstract: The Michif language - spoken by descendants of French Canadian fur traders and Cree Indians in western Canada - is considered an "impossible language" since it uses French for nouns and Cree for verbs, and comprises two different sets of grammatical rules. Bakker uses historical research and fieldwork data to present the first detailed analysis of this language and how it came into being.

Language and masculinity

Abstract: List of Contributors. Acknowledgements. Introduction: Ulrike Hanna Meinhof and Sally Johnson (Bradford University and Lancaster University). 1. Theorizing Language and Masculinity: A Feminist Perspective: Sally Johnson (Lancaster University). 2. a Box--outa and a Taxinga : Roger Hewitt (Institute of Education, London). 3. Performing Gender Identity: Young Mena s Talk and the Construction of Heterosexual Masculinity: Deborah Cameron (University of Strathclyde). 4. Power and the Language of Men: Scott Fabius Kiesling. 5. Masculinity in a Multilingual Setting: John Pujolar (Lancaster University). 6. a One--at--a--Timea : The Organization of Mena s Talk: Jennifer Coates (Roehampton Institute). 7. Do Men Gossip?An Analysis of Football Talk on Television: Sally Johnson and Frank Finlay (Lancaster University). 8. The Role of Expletives in the Construction of Masculinity: Vivian de Klerk (Rhodes University). 9. a Aceptarlo con hombriaa : Representations of Masculinity in Spanish Political Discourse: JoAnne Neff van Aertselaer (Universidad Complutense). 10. a Randy Fish Boss Branded a Stinkera : Coherence and the Construction of Masculinities in a British Tabloid Newspaper: Mary M. Talbot (Odense Universitet). 11. a The Object of Contempt is the Object of Desirea : Representations of Masculinity in Straight to Hell Magazine: John Heywood (Lancaster University). 12. a The Most Important Event of My Life!a A Comparison of Male and Female Written Narratives: Ulrike Hanna Meinhof (Bradford University). Bibliography. Index.

Language and politics in the United States and Canada : myths and realities

Abstract: This volume critically analyzes and explains the goals, processes, and effects of language policies in the United States and Canada from historical and contemporary perspectives. The focus of this book is to explore parallel and divergent developments in language policy and language rights in the two countries, especially in the past four decades, as a basis for reflection on what can be learned from one country's experience by the other. Effects of language policies and practices on majority and minority individuals and groups are evaluated. Differences in national and regional language situations in the U.S. and Canada are traced to historical and sociological, demographic, and legal factors which have sometimes been inappropriately generalized or ignored by ideologues. The point is to show that certain general principles of economics and sociology apply to the situations in both countries, but that differing notions of sovereignty, state and nation, ethnicity, pluralism, and multiculturalism have shaped attitudes and policies in significant ways. Understanding the bases for these varying attitudes and policies provides a clearer understanding of the idiosyncratic as well as more universal factors that contribute to tensions between groups and to outcomes, many of which are unintended. The volume makes clear that language matters always involve issues of culture, economics, politics, individual and group identities, and local and national histories. The chapters provide detailed analyses on a wide range of issues at the national, state/provincial, and local levels in both countries. The chapter authors come from a variety of academic disciplines (education, geography, journalism, law, linguistics, political science, and sociology), and the findings, taken together, contribute to an evolving, interdisciplinary theory of language policy.

Early lexical acquisition: the role of cross-situational learning:

Abstract: Several theorists have proposed that children may learn the meaning of a new word by paying attention to the element that remains constant across multiple uses of that word. The current study presents a direct test of this hypothesis. Two-, three- and four-year-olds (N = 24 in each group) were presented with novel objects that differed systematically in shape and texture. Children were shown one target object and were told 'This is a modi one'. In the Shape condition, two objects that matched the target object in shape (and differed in texture) were also labelled 'modi ones'. In the Texture condition, the two objects matched the target in texture (and differed in shape). Subsequent tests indicated that, in extending the novel adjective to other exemplars, children in all age groups attended to the consistent element across naming contexts. Implications for theories of lexical acquisition are discussed.

Learning about noun plurals in early Palestinian Arabic

Abstract: This study examines the acquisition of noun plurals in a dialect of Palestinian Arabic (PA) spoken in the north of Israel. PA has both regular 'sound' plurals which are formed by the attachment of a feminine or masculine suffix to the singular stem, and so-called 'broken' irregular plurals which are formed by internal changes in the singular stem. Forty-eight children aged 2-6 years were presented with a set of singular nouns and were asked to provide the corresponding plural forms. The results indicate different learning patterns for the three plural types: while Sound Masculines and Broken Plurals are learnt gradually, Sound Feminines soar to ceiling level by age 3. Error analysis shows a U- shaped curve of overregularization of broken forms towards the regular sound plurals and, within the category of sound plurals, errors of suffix exchange from Masculine to Feminine plurals, again taking a U-shaped form. In contrast, irregularization errors of exchanging broken for sound and for other broken forms in...

Alternative models of dialect death : Dissipation vs. concentration

Abstract: The comparison of the moribund dialects of Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, and Smith Island, Maryland, demonstrates that valuable insight into the patterning of variation and change in language death can be obtained by investigating moribund varieties of healthy languages. In addition, it is crucial to investigate not only cases of death by linguistic decay (DISSIPATION), but also cases of death by population attrition in which linguistic distinctiveness is maintained or heightened among fewer speakers (CONCENTRATION). The comparative investigation of both types of language death lends insight into the macrolevel socioeconomic and microlevel sociopsychological factors that lead to the maintenance or demise of moribund languages and language varieties, as well as the nature of change in language death. It is demonstrated that change in both concentrating and dissipating varieties is rapid but otherwise indistinct from change in healthy varieties and that unusual patterns of variation and change can be explained by appealing to the social significance of language features.

Early intentional communication as a predictor of language development in young toddlers

Abstract: Interrelations between various types of early intentional communi cation measures, and their relations to children's concurrent and subsequent language skills and maternal interactional sensitivity...

Explaining Article-Possessor Complementarity: Economic Motivation in Noun Phrase Syntax.

Abstract: In many languages the definite article cannot occur when a possessive phrase is present in the NP (e.g. English *the my book, *John's the book). I argue that these patterns can be understood in terms of economic motivation because possessed NPs are very likely to be definite. A structural explanation in terms of a unique determiner position is insufficient to account for the full range of attested crosslinguistic patterns, and the universal generalizations that do seem to be valid can be derived from the economy-based explanation. Finally I show how the performance motivation of economy creates the competence pattern in diachronic change

Encyclopedia of semiotics

Abstract: The Encyclopedia of Semiotics is the first comprehensive guide to the topics, theories, and thinkers of this rapidly expanding field of knowledge. Drawing on classic and current work in linguistics, philosophy, literary theory, cognitive science, anthropology, and other disciplines, the Encyclopedia of Semiotics provides an unprecedented point of entry for students, teachers, and to a diverse, influential and rapidly growing body of knowledge. Semiotics informs an extraordinary number of areas in the humanities and social sciences, from literary and film criticism to design studies, computers, psychology, and linguistics. The Encyclopedia of Semiotics is an ideal tood for understanding across disciplines - mapping the history of the field, presenting its key terms and theorists, and illustrating the scope of semiotic analysis in many cultural domains. The Encyclopedia of Semiotics is valuable as a single-stop reference source of essential knowledge, including: The life and work of important authors and theorists: Roland Barthes, Umberto Eco, Mikhail Bakhtin, Ferdinand de Saussure, Charles Sanders Peirce, Christian Metz, Julia Kristeva, Alan Turing among many others. The impact of various centres and schools of thought: the Vienna Circle and the Copenhagen, Prague, Moscow-Tartu, and Paris Schools. The meaning of key concepts and terms: deconstruction, denotation, metonymy, markedness, meme, umwelt. The scope of semiotic analysis in social and cultural domains: advertising, gossip, electronic mail, postage stamps, cinema, photography, and more. The comtemporary debates and critiques in a remarkable arrange of related fields: cultural theory, narratology, nonverbal communication, biosemiotics, computer modeling of representation and interaction. This alphabetically arranged encyclopedia is packed with helpful features to speed students and scholars to the information they need. The articles are supported by up-to-date bibliographies and are readily accessible via the detailed index and system of cross-references.

The generative study of second language acquisition

Abstract: Contents: S. Flynn, Introduction. Part I:Functional Categories. U. Lakshmanan, Functional Categories and Related Mechanisms in Child Second Language Acquisition. A. Vainikka, M. Young-Scholten, The Initial State in the L2 Acquisition of Phrase Structure. B.D. Schwartz, On Two Hypotheses of "Transfer" in L2A: Minimal Trees and Absolute L1 Influence. S.D. Epstein, S. Flynn, G. Martohardjono, The Strong Continuity Hypothesis: Some Evidence Concerning Functional Categories in Adult L2 Acquisition. J.W. Gair, Functional Categories in L2 Acquisition: Homegrown or Imported? Commentary on Part I. Part II:Constraints on Wh-Movement. X. Li, Adult L2 Accessibility to UG: An Issue Revisited. L. White, A. Juffs, Constraints on Wh-Movement in Two Different Contexts of Nonnative Language Acquisition: Competence and Processing. D.C. Lillo-Martin, The Acquisition of English by Deaf Signers: Is Universal Grammar Involved? G. Martohardjono, Measuring Competence in L2 Acquisition: Commentary on Part II. Part III:Binding and Related Issues. T. Al-Kasey, A.T. Perez-Leroux, Second Language Acquisition of Spanish Null Subjects. S. Bennett, L. Progovac, Morphological Status of Reflexives in Second Language Acquisition. N. Yusa, A Minimalist Approach to Second Language Acquisition. K. Christie, J.P. Lantolf, Bind Me Up Bind Me Down: Reflexives in L2. M. Thomas, Binding and Related Issues in L2 Acquisition: Commentary on Part III. Part IV:Phonology. J. Archibald, Metrical Parameters and Lexical Dependency: Acquiring L2 Stress. A. Youssef, I. Mazurkewich, The Acquisition of English Metrical Parameters and Syllable Structure by Adult Native Speakers of Egyptian Arabic (Cairene Dialect). W. O'Neil, The Rhythm Rule in English and the Growth of L2 Knowledge.

Swedish early communicative development inventories: words and gestures1

Abstract: This study describes the typical course and variability in major areas of communicative development for 228 Swedish-speaking children between 8 and 16 months of age. The assessments were made by parental reports with the Swedish Early Communicative Development Inventories (SECDI) using a semi-longitudinal design. Age-based norms for understanding of phrases, vocabulary comprehension, vocabulary production and use of gestures are described at the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th and 90th percentile levels. More lexical verbs were found among the first words in comprehension than in production. An extensive variability within individuals in onset and development was found for the assessed skills. The individual differences proved to be stable over 4–6 months. No gender differences were found for comprehension of phrases, total gestures, vocabulary compre-hension, or for vocabulary production. Strong, unique associations were found between total gestures and vocabulary comprehension and between vocabulary comprehension and vocabulary production. In contrast, no unique association was found between gestures and vocabulary production. The results generally concur with those reported for English-speaking American children by Fenson et al. (1993, 1994).