The book addresses a controversial current topic in language acquisition studies: the impact of frequency on linguistic structure in child language. A major strength of the book is that the role of input frequency in the acquisition process is evaluated in a large variety of languages, topics and the two major theoretical frameworks: UG-based and usage-based accounts. While most papers report a clear frequency effect, different factors that may be interacting with pure statistical effects are critically assessed. An introductory statement is made by Thomas Roeper who calls for caution as he identifies frequency as a non-coherent concept and argues for a precise definition of what can and cannot be explained by statistical effects.

From the contents:

Introducing the frequency debate in studies of language acquisition, Insa Gülzow and Natalia Gagarina

Opening statement What frequency can do and what it can’t, Tom Roeper

The acquisition of determiners The role of input frequency in article acquisition in early child Swedish, Ute Bohnacker - Testing the effects of frequency on the rate of learning: Determiner use in early French, German and Italian, Tanja Kupisch

Input frequencies across development The acquisition of non-agent subjects in child Hebrew: The role of input, Sigal Uziel-Karl and Nancy Budwig - The role of input frequency in early language production: Children’s usage of Serbian prepositions, Maja Savić and Darinka Anđelković - Characteristics of maternal input in relation to vocabulary development in children learning German, Christina Kauschke and Gisela Klann-Delius - What happens when adults often use infinitives?, Natalia Gagarina

Frequency mismatches between caregiver input and child language Structural versus frequency effects in L1 acquisition of the passive and impersonal in Serbian, Milja Djurkovic - The (non-) effect of input frequency on the acquisition of word order in Norwegian embedded clauses, Marit Westergaard and Kristine Bentzen - Factors determining the acquisition of animacy in Czech, Denisa Bordag

(Non-)Frequentist perspectives within UG A note on acquisition in frequency-based accounts of binding phenomena, Jason Mattausch and Insa Gülzow - Principles, parameters and probabilities, Rosalind Thornton, Stephen Crain and Graciela Tesan

Comments The role of frequency in language acquisition, Katherine Demuth - Counting grammars, Charles Yang

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