ABSTRACT
This paper is taken from the book by Vigotsky first published in Russian in 1934 shortly after his death. The appearance of an English edition in 1962 provided a major contribution to contemporary discussions on the relationship between language and thinking and on the problems of cognition generally. The paper which follows is an abridged version of the last chapter in the book and it summarizes some of the most important of Vigotsky’s ideas. Of particular interest are his views on the nature of the relationship between language and thinking, and on the way in which word meanings evolve.
