A large body of knowledge has accumulated in recent years on the cognitive processes underlying language, much of which comes from studies of Indo-European languages, in particular English. This groundbreaking volume explores the languages of South and Southeast Asia, which differ significantly from Indo-European languages in their grammar, lexicon and spoken forms. This book raises new questions in psycholinguistics and enables readers to re-evaluate previous models in light of new research. With thirty-six chapters divided into three parts - Language Acquisition, Language Processing and Language and Brain - it examines contemporary topics alongside new findings in areas such as first and second language acquisition, the development of literacy, the diagnosis of language and reading disorders, and the relationship between language, brain, culture and cognition. It will be invaluable to all those interested in the languages of South and Southeast Asia, as well as psychologists, linguists, educationalists, speech therapists and neuroscientists.