Thompson River Salish dictionary: nɬεʔkεpmxcín Comp, by Laurence C. Thompson and M. Terry Thompson (review)

REVIEWS851 S & T's second proposal, that the 'theory of mind' is located within the central system, is supported by Christopher's cognitive abilities. On the one hand, he has no difficulty adopting another's perspective, accepting a hypothetical state of affairs, or making appearance/reality distinctions. On the other hand, he fails to impute appropriate beliefs to others. S & T argue that Christopher performs poorly only when the theory of mind tasks require the formation of higherorder representations, an observation that implies placement within the central system. An ancillary, but prevailing interest throughout the book focuses on universal grammar (UG) and parameter resetting. S & T maintain that second-language learning, like first-language acquisition , is constrained by UG for both Christopher and normals. For example, when learning a new language, Christopher spontaneously produced constructions allowed by UG even though the input lacked any direct evidence for such structures. In normal learners, however, inductive strategies may also play an additional, crucial role. When presented with the 'impossible' negative and past tense constructions of Epun, normal learners were able to extract the linguistic rule using general problem-solving strategies. Christopher, with his impaired cognitive abilities, mastered only those rules accounted for by UG. With respect to parameter resetting, S & T consistently maintain that this does not occur for Christopher, even in the case of his acceptance of null subjects. As the authors point out, however, this does not preclude parameter resetting in normal learners. This book, with its focus on understanding the architecture of the mind, makes an important contribution to psycholinguistics and the broader field of cognitive science. It is not, however, for the novice. First, the book assumes considerable knowledge of both Fodor's and Anderson's models of the mind as well as considerable familiarity with current linguistic theory. Second, many arguments center on Christopher's translation abilities in numerous languages and can at times be difficult to follow. Third, issues regarding modularity, central processor interfacing, theory of mind, and the role of UG and parameter resetting in language learning are interspersed throughout the book, making it difficult to match specific hypotheses with the appropriate datasets . Finally, the authors seem almost preoccupied in their tendency to attribute Christopher's poor performance on certain tasks to central processing deficits. Nevertheless, their willingness to offer some structure to a virtually undifferentiated central system is both reassuring and thought-provoking. And like other great case studies, their attempts to elucidate the architecture of the mind by studying a single, unique individual are noteworthy. REFERENCES Anderson, Mike. 1992. Intelligence and development: A cognitive theory. Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell. Chomsky, Noam. 1965. Aspects of the theory of syntax. Cambodge, MA: MIT Press. Bellum, U.; S. Marks; A. Bihrle; and H. Sabo. 1993. Dissociation between language and cognitive functions in Williams Syndrome. Language development in exceptional circumstances, ed. by Dorothy Bishop and Kay Mogford, 177-89. Hove, UK: Lawrence Erlbaum. Fodor, Jerry A. 1983. Modularity of mind. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Leslie, Alan M. 1987. Pretense and representation: The oogins of "theory of mind". Psychological Review 94.412-26. Yamada, Jeni E. 1990. Laura: A case for the modularity of language Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Department of Social Sciences Warren Wilson College P.O. Box 9000 Asheville, NC 28815 vgarlock@warren-wilson.edu Thompson River Salish dictionary: nie'kepmxcin. Comp, by Laurence C. Thompson and M. Terry Thompson. (University of Montana occasional papers in linguistics , 12.) Missoula: University of Montana, 1996. Pp. xxvii, 1412. $45.00. Reviewed by Ivy Doak This large, beautifully bound book incorporates data collected by the Thompsons and several of their dedicated students and colleagues and includes the contributions, both elicited and inde- 852LANGUAGE, VOLUME 73, NUMBER 4 (1997) pendently compiled, of the speakers of various dialects of Thompson River Salish. The book consists of a preface, an introduction, and two main sections: Part 1 is the Thompson-English dictionary (1-561) and Part 2, the English-Thompson index (563-1412). The introduction is useful and readable. It provides information on the language and its speakers and is a guide to using the dictionary. The guide includes a listing of the symbols and alphabet used within entries; a pronunciation guide and discussion of spelling conventions...