From Sound To Words And Sentences

The voices that infants utter are called baby talk, twaddling or babbling. These sounds are attempts of the babies to learn how to acquire the language. They are not in a position to as yet utter words that can be recognized. In the first year the larynx descends which allows the pharynx to develop for the sounds that will soon become words. Baby talk begins when the infant is 5 to 7 months old. They begin by making noise. It is only when the baby is one year old that recognizable words are produced. Syllables begin to be repeated. This is called reduplicative babbling. The variegated babbling is when a mix of syllables is used by the baby to babble. It is when the babies are calm that they babble more rather than when they are excited or upset. Babies prepare themselves by babbling for uttering the basic sounds that they will require for speaking the language. Babbling is natural to humans and this is clear when even the deaf babies babble.

From birth to about 4 months the babies coos and gurgles. When the baby is 4 to 6 months old, it starts babbling. This babbling continues to when the baby is a year or so old. Meaningful sound and words starts emerging between the age of 12 and18 months. Between 18 and 24 months the toddlers starts repeating words. Meaningful words begin to form then with the babbling. About 50 words or so is the vocabulary of the baby. But they are able to understand many more words than they are able to utter. Short sentence begin to form. But then they may not be able to use the words correctly. The progression of the baby is from crying to cooing and then progressing to vocal play. Canonical babbling follows which later becomes conversational babbling.

Sign language is also used by babies as a means for effective communication. Babies can be taught sign language to assist them to avoid being frustrated when they are not able to find the right sound to express themselves. Priscilla Dunstan proclaimed that babies everywhere is found to use a set of five words and that each have a specific meaning. She released  The Dunstan Baby Language DVD in 2006 which sets out to teach the method to recognize these sounds.

When adults respond to the babbling of babies with babbling, it helps the development of babies. Vocabulary development can be assisted by integrating some adult speech with the babbling. It benefits in the cognitive development of the baby. Whatever may be, the baby will be able to speak the local language in the end.