The goal of understanding the processes and mechanisms by which a child acquires a first language (L1) is an ambitious one. The rapid progress in the field of L1 acquisition over the last 50 years or so, combined with the practical challenge posed by an increasingly multidisciplinary literature, presents a daunting picture to established scholars as well as newcomers. This volume, edited by Lust and Foley, is an outstanding collection of foundational readings in the philosophy and science of language acquisition. Anyone who wishes to understand the state of the field today—or has ambitions of contributing to its advancement tomorrow—will find this book a vital resource.

This is particularly true for researchers interested specifically in SLA. If a volume such as this were to be compiled from the perspective of SLA, it would need to contain many of the same papers. Indeed, a number of the authors included here have already made direct contributions to SLA (e.g., Lenneberg and Clark). However, as it stands, this volume provides SLA researchers with an unparalleled and necessary overview of the theoretical underpinnings of modern research on language acquisition.

The work is organized in three sections. The first section, entitled “Theory of Language Acquisition,” presents the foundational writings in linguistic theory that motivate inquiry to this day. The second section, entitled “The Nature-Nurture Controversies,” presents the defining works spanning the spectrum of this debate. The third section, entitled “Areas of Language Knowledge,” provides an overview of the core elements of language (morphology, phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics).

Throughout, Lust and Foley selected readings that reflect a fundamental emphasis on linguistic theory. As readers familiar with the field will be aware, theoretical positions in linguistics have often become polarized. From the balanced perspective offered by this volume, what emerges is a picture of a field in which theoretical disputes—frequently pursued with considerable vigor by their proponents and followers—underline an encouraging vitality within the field. The paradigm example of this, well-known outside as well as within language acquisition circles, was crystallized in the Piatelli-Palmarini volume on the debate between Chomsky and Piaget in which their positions on the nature of language knowledge, the role of innateness and modularity, and the importance of developmental patterns in explaining knowledge has effectively mapped out language acquisition theory to this day.

Despite the emphasis on linguistic theory, this work clearly documents the development of a field in which researchers draw broadly from ideas and methodologies in other fields to learn new things about how language works and then modify theoretical positions (or formulate entirely new ones) in response to new data. L1 acquisition theory has been enriched and extended by the need to cope with challenges generated by methodologies that could not have been anticipated. For example, brain imaging methods have added greatly to our knowledge of how language is organized in and processed by brain structures. These discoveries, in turn have generated new questions and, in some cases, reassessment of the theoretical basis for language acquisition.

The relevance of the papers in this volume to SLA researchers is highlighted by the criteria Lust and Foley applied to selection:

This volume, by virtue of the judicious selection of groundbreaking works in the field of L1 acquisition, provides an annotated map of the history of ideas that also underpin the foundations of SLA research. This book would be eminently suitable as a textbook for graduate or advanced undergraduate courses.