'Harris tackles the seemingly impenetrable question of the role of caretaker speech on language acquisition. In an engaging and accessible style she reviews previous research on this question and addresses the many methodological difficulties that tend to ensue with this line of research.' - Jacqueline S. Johnson in Contemporary Psychology, 1995. 'This is an extremely important contribution to the MIEssays in Developmental PsychologyD series. Written in a style which is lucid and readily accessible to the non-specialist, Harris presents an engaging account of the processes of language development during infancy and early childhood.it will be read with profit by undergraduate and postgraduate students concerned to understand the role of early experience in language development and how it interacts with biological endowment. Research students in particular will find the sections on methodology extremely helpful.

' - H. McGurk (Thomas Coram Research Unit, London).