Words, pauses, and gestures: New directions in language production research

Abstract

We present a summary of recent research in the area of language production based on contributions presented at the Second International Workshop on Language Production (Maastricht, the Netherlands, 28–30 August, 2005). The articles included in the present special issue report on the production of words, pauses, and gestures, as well as the effects of ageing on lexicalisation processes. These papers raise a range of relevant issues for the study of language, including linguistic vs. cognitive influences on language production (F. Ferreira), the use of eye movements to assess the effect of ageing on specific aspects of cognitive performance (Belke and Meyer), how gesture can be used to better understand cross-linguistic differences (Kita et al.), and advanced theory development in the well-studied domain of single-word production (Roelofs; La Heij et al.; and Roelofs).