Suggested background reading:
Epting, K. L., & Critchfield, T. S. (2006). Self-Editing: On the relation between behavioral and psycholinguistic approaches. The Behavior Analyst, 29, 211–234.
Gathercole, V. C. M. & Hoff, E. (2007). Input and the acquisition of language: Three questions. In E. Hoff and M. Shatz (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of language (pp. 107-127). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
Goldstein, M. H., King, A. P., & West, M. J. (2003). Social interaction shapes babbling: Testing parallels between birdsong and speech. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 100, 8030-5.
Greer, R. D. (2008). The ontogenetic selection of verbal capabilities: Contributions of Skinner’s verbal behavior theory to a more comprehensive understanding of language. International Journal of Psychology & Psychological Therapy, 8, 363-86.
Hart & Risley’s (1992) book Meaningful Differences. Sections of this online Risley interview provide a good summary: https://childrenofthecode.org/interviews/risley.htm
Layng T. (2016). Thirty million words––and even more functional relations: A review of Suskind’s Thirty Million Words. The Behavior Analyst, 39, 339–350.
McLaughlin, S. F. (2010). Verbal behavior by B.F. Skinner: Contributions to analyzing early language learning. Journal of Speech and Language Pathology – Applied Behavior Analysis, 5, 114-131.
Moerk E. L. (1990). Three-term contingency patterns in mother-child verbal interactions during first-language acquisition. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 54, 293–305.
Naigles, L. R. (2020). Atypical language development matters: A commentary on Ambridge (2020). First Language, 40, 621-625
Naigles, L. R. & Tek, S. (2017). ‘Form is easy, meaning is hard’ revisited: (re) characterizing the strengths and weaknesses of language in children with autism spectrum disorder. WIREs Cogn Sci 2017, e1438. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1438
Palmer, D. C. (2014). Verbal behavior. In F. K. McSweeney & E. S. Murphy (Eds.), The Wiley Blackwell Handbook of Operant and Classical Conditioning (pp. 369–391). Wiley-Blackwell.
Pelaez, M. & Monlux, K. (2017). Operant conditioning methodologies to investigate infant learning. European Journal of Behavior Analysis, 18, 1-30.
Petursdottir, A. I. (2018). The current status of the experimental analysis of verbal behavior. Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice, 18, 151-168.
Saffran, J. R., Aslin, R. N., & Newport, E. L. (1996). Statistical learning by 8-month-old infants. Science, 274(5294), 1926-1928.
Sturdy, C. B., & Nicoladis, E. (2017). How much of language acquisition does operant conditioning explain? Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1918.
Epting, K. L., & Critchfield, T. S. (2006). Self-Editing: On the relation between behavioral and psycholinguistic approaches. The Behavior Analyst, 29, 211–234.
Gathercole, V. C. M. & Hoff, E. (2007). Input and the acquisition of language: Three questions. In E. Hoff and M. Shatz (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of language (pp. 107-127). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
Goldstein, M. H., King, A. P., & West, M. J. (2003). Social interaction shapes babbling: Testing parallels between birdsong and speech. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 100, 8030-5.
Greer, R. D. (2008). The ontogenetic selection of verbal capabilities: Contributions of Skinner’s verbal behavior theory to a more comprehensive understanding of language. International Journal of Psychology & Psychological Therapy, 8, 363-86.
Hart & Risley’s (1992) book Meaningful Differences. Sections of this online Risley interview provide a good summary: https://childrenofthecode.org/interviews/risley.htm
Layng T. (2016). Thirty million words––and even more functional relations: A review of Suskind’s Thirty Million Words. The Behavior Analyst, 39, 339–350.
McLaughlin, S. F. (2010). Verbal behavior by B.F. Skinner: Contributions to analyzing early language learning. Journal of Speech and Language Pathology – Applied Behavior Analysis, 5, 114-131.
Moerk E. L. (1990). Three-term contingency patterns in mother-child verbal interactions during first-language acquisition. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 54, 293–305.
Naigles, L. R. (2020). Atypical language development matters: A commentary on Ambridge (2020). First Language, 40, 621-625
Naigles, L. R. & Tek, S. (2017). ‘Form is easy, meaning is hard’ revisited: (re) characterizing the strengths and weaknesses of language in children with autism spectrum disorder. WIREs Cogn Sci 2017, e1438. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1438
Palmer, D. C. (2014). Verbal behavior. In F. K. McSweeney & E. S. Murphy (Eds.), The Wiley Blackwell Handbook of Operant and Classical Conditioning (pp. 369–391). Wiley-Blackwell.
Pelaez, M. & Monlux, K. (2017). Operant conditioning methodologies to investigate infant learning. European Journal of Behavior Analysis, 18, 1-30.
Petursdottir, A. I. (2018). The current status of the experimental analysis of verbal behavior. Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice, 18, 151-168.
Saffran, J. R., Aslin, R. N., & Newport, E. L. (1996). Statistical learning by 8-month-old infants. Science, 274(5294), 1926-1928.
Sturdy, C. B., & Nicoladis, E. (2017). How much of language acquisition does operant conditioning explain? Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1918.