The authors investigate the role of metonymy in language acquisition. Their paper may in fact be the first study on the production and understanding of metonymy in this field, whereas studies on the production and understanding of metaphor in language acquisition proliferate. In child language the use of metonymy serves two different functions: it is a means of extending the known stock of words to cope with increasing communicative needs and of exploiting 'natural pathways of meanings' creatively. The former use of metonymy is a pragmatic strategy which leads to 'compelled' overextension. Compelled overextensions are typically found up to the age of 2;5, while by the age of four children start producing metonymy for creative purposes. This use of metonymy is referred to by the authors as 'creative metonymical shrinking.' Children's comprehension of metonymy is empirically studied using a group of 2-3 year-olds and a group of 4-5 year-olds. (Klaus-Uwe Panther and Günter Radden)