Clearly written, well-organized, and comprehensive, Language Development: An Introduction is the most widely used text in its area. With its updated coverage of pre-school and school-age language development and increased coverage of multicultural issues, the new fourth edition continues its thorough coverage of the five major areas of language.Within a practical, chronological framework, Language Development: An Introduction examines every aspect of syntax, morphology, semantics, phonology, and pragmatics. It also explores early cognition and presymbolic communication -- topics not often found in introductory texts -- with a chapter on language variations, a strengthened chapter on learning and teaching language, and a renewed emphasis on pragmatics. The author presents even the most complex, technical concepts at an appropriate level for beginning students. In doing so, he has created a text that will be useful to future parents, educators, psychologists, and speech-language pathologists.