Presenting the psychology of language from diverse perspectives, Language and Its Normal Processing explains how language is defined and how it is shaped by the social, perceptual and cognitive constraints of the user, and what role biology plays in shaping language structure. Vivien Tartter not only takes readers through the basic controversies in the field, but also explores sociolinguistics, bilingualism, and second language reading and writing. The role of social processes is emphasized in constructing meaning, in language and literacy acquisition, and in language change. The book covers typical language processing in normal individuals, with thorough updates of relevant literature on the structure, processing and acquisition of semantic, syntactic and phonetic systems in language.