Toward a child-centered, interactive approach to multimodal language development: A commentary on Karadöller, Sümer, and Özyürek

Karadöller et al. discuss the role of multimodality in first language acquisition, emphasizing pointing and iconic gestures. While their focused approach provides a much-needed starting point, we argue that a more comprehensive perspective on multimodal language development should also consider two crucial dimensions: (1) a child-centered perspective that acknowledges the full spectrum of early multimodal behavior, and (2) an interactive perspective that recognizes language development as inherently social, shaped by dynamic caregiver–infant exchanges.