Early Communication and Language
Communication Milestones: The First Two Years
These are norms. Many intelligent and healthy babies vary in the age at which they reach these milestones.
| Months | Communication Milestones |
|---|---|
| 0 | Reflexive communication—cries, movements, facial expressions |
| 1 | Recognizes some sounds; Makes several different cries and sounds; Turns toward familiar sounds. |
| 3 | A range of meaningful noises—cooing, fussing, crying, laughing; Social smile well established; Laughter begins; Imitates movements; Enjoys interaction with others. |
| 6 | New sounds, including squeals, growls, croons, trills, vowel sounds; Meaningful gestures including showing excitement (waving arms and legs); Deaf babies express their first signs; Expresses negative feelings (with face and arms); Capable of distinguishing emotion by tone of voice; Responds to noises by making sounds; Uses noise to express joy and unhappiness; Babbles, including both consonant and vowel sounds repeated in syllables. |
| 10 | Makes simple gestures, like raising arms for “pick me up;” Recognizes pointing; Makes a sound (not in recognizable language) to indicate a particular thing; Responds to simple requests. |
| 12 | More gestures, such as shaking head for “no;” Babbles with inflection, intonation; Names familiar people (like “mama,” “dada,” “nana”); Uses exclamations, such as “uh-oh!” Tries to imitate words; Points and responds to pointing; First spoken words. |
| 18 | Combines two words (like “Daddy bye-bye”); Slow growth of vocabulary, up to about 50 words; Language use focuses on 10–30 holophrases; Uses nouns and verbs; Uses movement, including running and throwing, to indicate emotion; Naming explosion may begin, three or more words learned per day; Much variation: Some toddlers do not yet speak. |
| 24 | Combines three or four words together; half the toddler’s utterances are two or more words long; Uses adjectives and adverbs (“blue,” “big,” “gentle”); Sings simple songs. |
Information from American Academy of Pediatrics.
Universal First Words
Across cultures, babies’ first words are remarkably similar. The words for mother and father are recognizable in almost any language. Most children will learn to name their immediate family and caregivers between the ages of 12 and 18 months.
| Language | Mother | Father |
|---|---|---|
| English | mama, mommy | dada, daddy |
| Spanish | mama | papa |
| French | maman, mama | papa |
| Italian | mamma | bebbo, papa |
| Latvian | mama | te-te |
| Syrian Arabic | mama | babe |
| Bantu | be-mama | taata |
| Swahili | mama | baba |
| Sanskrit | nana | tata |
| Hebrew | ema | abba |
| Korean | oma | apa |
A photo below this table shows a mother with her hand over her mouth and a baby mimicking her. Speech bubbles from the baby extend to encircle the words for mother and father in the table above.
Mastering Language
Children’s use of language becomes more complex as they acquire more words and begin to master grammar and usage. A child’s spoken words or sounds (utterances) are broken down into the smallest units of language to determine their length and complexity.
| Utterance | Units |
|---|---|
| "Baby!" | 1 |
| "Baby + Sleep" | 2 |
| "Baby + Sleep + ing" | 3 |
| "Shh! + Baby + Sleep + ing" | 4 |
| "Shh! + Baby + is + Sleep + ing" | 5 |
| "Shh! + The + Baby + is + Sleep + ing" | 6 |