Special Issue on the 'Interrelations between non-linguistic and linguistic representations of cognition and action in development'

This editorial provides an overview of the Special issue of Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. This Special Issue discusses interrelations between non-linguistic and linguistic representations of cognition and action in development. The special issue is devoted to current empirical evidence from different areas of developmental research. The key question is whether and how non-linguistic and linguistic modes of representation and perception are linked and interrelated during the course of development. This key question was addressed by the different contributions with respect to different areas of development and using a variety of different approaches. The contributions primarily focused on infancy and early childhood, spanning from 9 months to 4 years. This period of life is of particular relevance with respect to language development because children start to produce their first words around their first birthday and their language acquisition undergoes rapid development during the next few years.