Responds to Ellis (1996), who claims that much of first- and second-language acquisition is sequence learning and can be explained in terms of connectionist theory. This article does not disagree with the substance of Ellis's article but rather the extent to which his model can be applied to many aspects of natural languages. (six references) (CK)

Responds to Major's (1996) and Ioup's (1996) criticism of this author's theory of language acquisition. The author agrees with both critics that abstract systems of phonology are acquired. He concludes that the proper study of language acquisition is to chart the course by which perceptual, motoric, and cognitive functions induce structure. (31…