The 'language and space' area is a relatively new research area in cognitive science. Studying how language and spatial representation are linked in the human brain mainly draws on research in existing disciplines focusing on language, perception, categorization and development. Representative researchers from these sub-disciplines of cognitive science discuss new insights in their own field of expertise and show what role their definition of 'function', 'feature', or 'functional feature' plays in their research. New research centred around these concepts is on the forefront of developments in