Learning to Speak and Use Language
Birth
Newborn babies make sounds that let others know that they are experiencing pleasure or pain.
0-3 months
Your baby smiles at you when you come into view. He or she repeats the same sound a lot and “coos and goos” when content. Cries “differentiate”. That means, the baby uses a different cry for different situations. For example, one cry says “I’m hungry” and another says “I have a pain”.
4-6 months
Gurgling sounds or “vocal play” occur while you are playing with your baby or when they are occupying themselves happily. Babbling really gets going in this age range, and your baby will sometimes sound as though he or she is “talking”. This “speech-like” babbling includes many sounds including the bilabial (two lip) sounds “p”, “b”, “w” and “m”. Your baby can tell you, using sounds or gestures that they want something, or want you to do something. He or she can make very “urgent” noises to spur you into action.
7-12 months
The sound of your baby’s babbling changes. This is because it now includes more consonants, as well as long and short vowels. He or she uses speech or other sounds (i.e., other than crying) in order to get your attention and hold on to it. And your baby’s first words (probably not spoken very clearly) have appeared! (“MaMa”, “Doggie”, “Night Night”, “Bye Bye”, “No”)
1-2 years
Now your baby is accumulating more words as each month passes. He or she will even ask 2-word questions like “Where ball?” “What’s that?” “More chippies?” “What that?”, and combine two words in other ways to make the Stage 1 Sentence Types (“Birdie go”, “No doggie”, “More push”). Words are becoming clearer as more initial consonants are used.
2-3 years
Your two or three year old’s vocabulary is exploding! He or she seems to have a word for almost everything. Utterances are usually one, two or three words long and family members can usually understand them. Your toddler may ask for, or draw your attention to something by naming it (“Elephant”) or one of its attributes (“Big!”) or by commenting (“Wow!”).
3-4 years
Sentences are becoming longer as your child can combine four or more words. He or she talks about things that have happened away from home, and is interested in talking about pre-school, friends, outings and interesting experiences. Speech is usually fluent and clear and “other people” can understand what your child is saying most of the time. In fact, sometimes “other people” hear things you wish they had not!
Overheard on a London bus on April 6, 2011 (the variety of English was RP):
Little Sister (3): It’s not fair mummy, my nose won’t blow.
Big Brother (4): Why won’t Fissy’s nose blow, mummy? My nose is a snot factory.
Stuttering and hoarseness
If stuttering (as opposed to normal non-fluency) occurs, see a speech-language pathologist. Stuttering is not a normal part of learning to talk, and neither is persistent hoarseness.
4-5 years
Your child speaks clearly and fluently in an easy-to-listen-to voice. He or she can construct long and detailed sentences (“We went to the zoo but we had to come home early because Sally wasn’t feeling well”; “I want to have a horse of my own like Evan, and Daddy says when he wins the lottery he’ll buy me one.”). He or she can tell a long, involved imaginative story sticking to the topic, and using “adult-like” grammar. Most sounds are pronounced correctly, though he or she may be lisping as a four year old, or, at five, still have difficulty with “r”, “v” and “th”. Your child can communicate easily with familiar adults and with other children. Your child may tell fantastic, dramatic, inventive, “tall stories” (sometimes even scaring themselves!) and engage strangers in conversation when you are out together.
