Vision and the Emergence of Meaning: Blind and Sighted Children's Early Language

Dunlea's examination of the relationship between language and conceptual development is based on her analysis of the early language in a group of blind, partially sighted and fully sighted children who participated in a pioneering longitudinal study at the University of Southern California. In particular, the study reveals a convergence of early language and conceptual development. By focusing on the processes of development rather than merely describing the end products of language acquisition, the author not only identifies significant differences in blind and sighted children, but also offers new insights on semantic and pragmatic development in general.