special issue of First Language/call for papers

[Michèle Guidetti]

Call for papers for a Special Issue of First Language


Gestures and communicative development


Guest Editors:	Michèle Guidetti, Université Toulouse II (France)
			Elena Nicoladis, University of Alberta (Canada)


There is growing evidence that gestures play an important role in language,
cognitive and communicative development. Children may use gestures earlier
in development than words in order to communicate. While words may then
supplant gestures as children's preferred form of communication, children
continue to gesture to reinforce or extend the spoken messages or even to
replace them. Gestures can also offer insight into children's unspoken
thoughts.

This Special Issue will bring together evidence on how gestures are related
to language, communication and mind in development. Papers presenting
empirical work on the link between early gestures and early language
development are of focal interest, as will be new data exploring whether
gestures from parents or peers affect or are linked with early cognitive and
communicative development.

Topics include (but are not restricted to):

·	Gestures, ontogeny and phylogeny

·	Different types of gestures and their influences on cognitive and
communicative development

·	Typical and atypical aspects of gestural development

·	Gestures from the pragmatic point of view

·	Gestures from a cross-cultural point of view

·	Production and comprehension of gestures

·	Gestures in bilingual children


Deadline for submissions: 31 December 2006


Submissions and enquiries should be addressed to:

Michèle Guidetti, email: guidetti at univ-tlse2.fr

Elena Nicoladis, email: elenan at ualberta.ca