Most current theories of lexical access in speech production are designed to capture the behaviour of young adults - typically college students. However, this group represents a minority of the world's speakers and an integral part of speech production is the observation of how young adults' speech evolves throughout the course of their life.


Taking a much broader approach to the subject, this special issue includes papers on the development of speech in childhood, adolescence and adulthood to determine how each group's speech production is affected by one another. An essential tool for language production researchers, this volume encourages them to consider their theories and findings against the wider context of language development across the lifespan.