Lydia White
Encyclopedia
Lydia White is a researcher and educator in the area of second language acquisition
(SLA). She is James McGill
Professor of Linguistics
and currently Chair of the Department of Linguistics at McGill University
.
Her 1989 survey of SLA research, Universal Grammar and Second Language Acquisition, has become a standard textbook in many university level SLA courses. The book puts particular emphasis on research which explores the implications that the theory of linguistic universals (the Universal Grammar
theory) has had upon second language acquisition approaches.
, and Language Acquisition.
Second language acquisition
Second-language acquisition or second-language learning is the process by which people learn a second language. Second-language acquisition is also the name of the scientific discipline devoted to studying that process...
(SLA). She is James McGill
James McGill
James McGill was a Scottish-Canadian businessman, military commander and philanthropist known for being the founder of McGill University...
Professor of Linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
and currently Chair of the Department of Linguistics at McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
.
Her 1989 survey of SLA research, Universal Grammar and Second Language Acquisition, has become a standard textbook in many university level SLA courses. The book puts particular emphasis on research which explores the implications that the theory of linguistic universals (the Universal Grammar
Universal grammar
Universal grammar is a theory in linguistics that suggests that there are properties that all possible natural human languages have.Usually credited to Noam Chomsky, the theory suggests that some rules of grammar are hard-wired into the brain, and manifest themselves without being taught...
theory) has had upon second language acquisition approaches.
Books
- "Grammatical Theory and Language Acquisition", 1982, Dordrecht: Foris
- "Universal Grammar and Second Language Acquisition", 1989, Amsterdam: John Benjamins
- "Second language acquisition and Universal Grammar", 2003, New York: Cambridge University Press
Articles
Lydia White has edited special issues of several leading journals in the field, and authored many articles in Language Learning, Studies in Second Language Acquisition, Second Language ResearchSecond Language Research
Second Language Research is a peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of linguistics, concerned foremost with second language acquisition. It was established in 1985 and is published quarterly by SAGE Publications...
, and Language Acquisition.