Child language and development contexts (Lenguaje infantil y contextos de desarrollo)

ABSTRACT In this introduction to the special issue Child Language and Development Contexts we present the main aspects of the childhood development research field, where studies in the last decades have demonstrated the centrality of context in the configuration of childhood experiences, as well as its contribution to linguistic development. We identify the most relevant findings in these investigations, along with less studied aspects that motivate this special issue. Next, we present the six studies that comprise this issue. The articles examine the contexts of everyday childhood life in diverse populations, and they focus on social, cultural and linguistic differences as well as the interactional and discourse dimensions that shape the situational contexts in which language develops. From different theoretical and methodological frameworks, the studies analyse the impact of these contextual dimensions on linguistic development. In the prospectives article, M. Soderstrom discusses the development of innovative technologies that allow the recording of extensive audio files, facilitating the development of cross-cultural and ecological studies on linguistic experiences and language development.