The development of idiom comprehension: A review

Idiomatic expressions are ideal material for studying the cognitive processes involved in the development of figurative language. This review provides an overview of the main findings so far of studies examining idiom comprehension in children and adolescents. As well as covering an extended period of development (from aged five to adolescence), these studies highlight the importance of three factors in idiom comprehension: familiarity, transparency, and context. We trace developmental changes in the cognitive processes that subtend idiom comprehension and look at how the existing literature can inform future research in this area.