ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a developmental view of the relation between theory of mind (ToM) and language in early childhood and—briefly—before this period during infancy and after it during the school years. It addresses the issue of what ToM is and how culture specific it might be. The chapter considers its development and the relationship with language for children in Western cultures. It also addresses a fundamental paradox at the heart of the matter—that is, communicative exchanges in infancy and toddlerhood appear to depend on a ToM that is not developed until later in the preschool years. Language is a similarly complex construct. It is a multifaceted system that has two basic functions: communication and representation. Many species represent and communicate, but only humans use one and the same system for both representing and communicating.
