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Language acquisition is a complex task, encompassing (at least) perception and categorization of phonemes, segmentation of speech, learning word meanings, and extracting morphological and syntactic regularities. The daunting nature of this task might suggest that a specialized module is required for language acquisition. Yet there is increasing evidence that general learning processes play a major role (eg, Marcus et al, 1999; Saffran, Aslin & Newport, 1996). In this symposium we present the case for analogical comparison processes in language learning. Analogical comparison recruits a structure-mapping process between two instances that highlights their common relational structure—a critical feature in abstracting regular patterns across utterances. A further outcome of structuremapping is that alignable differences (differences that play the same role in the matching structure) become salient, and this can help learners notice key contrasts. The goal of this symposium is to show how individuals spontaneously use analogical reasoning in language learning. We bring together empirical work addressing language acquisition in young children and second language learners, across three different levels of linguistic structure: phonology, lexical semantics, and syntax. B. Pajak will present work showing that learners infer commonalities between observed phonetic contrasts in their native language, and that this leads them to expect analogous contrasts along the same dimensions when learning a new language. D. Gentner and R. Shao will how analogical processes help children learn new word meanings with limited exposure. They revisit …