The topic of variation in language has received considerable attention in the field of general
linguistics in recent years. This includes research on linguistic micro-variation that is
dependent on fine distinctions in syntax and information structure. However relatively little
work has been done on how this variation is acquired. This book focuses on how different types
of variation are expressed in the input and how this is acquired by young children. The
collection of papers includes studies of the acquisition of variation in a number of different
languages including English German Greek Italian Korean Norwegian Swiss German
Ukrainian and American Sign Language. Different kinds of linguistic variation are considered
ranging from pure word order variation to optionally doubly filled COMPs and the resolution of
scopal ambiguities. In addition papers in the volume deal with the extreme case of variation
found in bilingual acquisition.
