Drawing on major research developments in the field, Vihman has updated and extensively revised the 1996 edition of her classic text to provide a thorough and stimulating overview of current studies of child production and perception and early word learning.

• Offers a full survey of the thinking on how babies develop phonological knowledge
• Provides a much needed update on the field - one in which this book remains unique, and in which there have also been dramatic developments since the publication of the first edition
• Surveys what has been learned about phonological development and raises questions for further study
• The only book that includes balanced treatment of research in perception and production and attempts a synthesis of these fields, which have generally developed in isolation from one another
• Includes a new chapter providing an overview of communicative and attentional development, as well as perceptual and vocal development, in the first 18 months, with additional focus on both implicit and explicit learning mechanisms