Learning to Talk

It's amazing, really: In the span of a few short years, a child goes from communicating only by crying to talking in complete, complex sentences. A stage-by-stage look at how language develops.

By Debbie Feit

Birth to 3 months: Crying and cooing

At this age, your infant's main form of communication is crying. She'll wail to let you know she's ready for lunch, needs a nap, doesn't feel well, has a wet diaper or is simply bored. What's impressive isn't so much the strength and stamina of her vocal cords, but her ability to use different cries for different requests.

Beyond crying, your baby is developing other abilities necessary for communication. You can expect to see her turn her head toward sounds and stare at your face when you talk to her. Notice how she quiets down when you sing a lullaby? "By 3 months, babies are showing social awareness, and that's a cornerstone of language," says Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Ph.D., director of the Infant Language Laboratory at Temple University, in Philadelphia and co-author of How Babies Talk.

Communication Cues:

• Talk and sing to your baby often; she likes the sound of your voice.
• Look at her and imitate her vocalizations and facial expressions
• Don't rush in the instant you hear her wake up; instead, if she seems content, let her exercise her vocal cords.

4 to 6 months: Tower of babble

Your baby is gaining more control of his vocal system and is using it to giggle, babble, screech, and make raspberries. He's actually beginning to combine consonants and vowels-usually single syllables repeated again and again. You'll hear what sounds like real words-maybe "ma-ma" or "da-da"-but he won't be using those terms meaningfully for a while yet.

"At this age, babies like to make the same sounds over and over," says Paula Tallal, Ph.D., codirector of the Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience at Rutgers University in Newark.

Your baby now pays attention to music, notices toys that make noise and begins to recognize his name. He can recognize different tones of voice and will even engage you in a "dialogue" by making a sound in response to something you say.

Communication Cues:

• Let him play with toys that make noise.
• Repeat your words when he attempts to imitate sounds you make
• Talk to him while you're doing things ("Max is having a nice bath" and "Sarah is eating yummy carrots for lunch")

7 to 9 months: Something to talk about

Your little one is now using sounds purposefully to get your attention and to experiment with her tongue and vocal cords. You'll notice longer strings of babbling that contain multiple consonants and vowels. "She may even end some 'sentences' with the intonation of a question," says Pasek.

This is also the age when she starts to intentionally communicate with you. "A baby may look at a ball and grunt or squeal," explains Julie J. Masterson, Ph.D., professor of communication sciences and disorders at Southwest Missouri State University, in Springfield, and co-author of Beyond Baby Talk. "Then when you see her looking at the ball, you can say, 'Oh, you want the ball. Here it is.' By doing that, you're helping your baby understand that her squeals and gestures can send a message."

Your baby's comprehension skills are growing stronger, too: She's able to recognize words for familiar things. When you ask, "Where's Mama?" she'll turn and look at you. Make a clicking sound with your tongue, and she may even join in.

Communication Cues

• Play games like peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake.
• Ask questions like "Where's the ball?" and show her where it is if she doesn't look at it.
• Labeling when she sees or squeals at an object

10 to 12 months: Making connections

By now, your baby can probably clap and wave on command, respond to simple requests ("Roll the ball), and show you he understands that words are symbols for things. He can meow when you say "cat" and go woof-woof when he sees a picture of a dog. He'll hand you a toy if you ask for it and will vehemently shake his head to mean "no." He'll rely on his body to communicate his needs, such as raising his arms when he wants you to pick him up.

Because his one or two words are most likely fragmented ("ba" for bottle) and not necessarily clear, he'll still rely on nonverbal communication to indicate his needs. He'll use his index finger to direct you to what he wants" says Marilyn C. Agin, M.D., a neurodevelopmental physician in New York City and coauthor of The Late Talker

Communication Cues:

• Showing him how to wave bye-bye.
• Ask him to show you his nose as you point to your own nose; do this with other body parts.
• Hide a toy while he watches and help him find it.
• Ask him to share a toy with you and talk about it ("Can I see your rattle? Let's make it shake").

12 to 18 months: Enter the real word

Your little linguist is now speaking two "languages": One is babbling--the stream of nonsensical "words" that have the same rhythm and inflection as actual English. The other is the growing list of one- and two-syllable sounds that have meaning-even if you can't decipher them. By the time she's 18 months, she'll probably be able to say 50 words, including some two-word combinations; she may understand 100.

Gradually, words begin to replace gestures as her primary mode of communication and "real" word learning begins. How can you tell when a word is "real"? Experts say there are three things to look for: consistent sound, consistent use of the word that's spoken with intent-not imitation-and using the word in different contexts. "It's not enough if the only time she recognizes Daddy is if he's in the room with her," Dr. Hirsh-Pasek says. "If she also says 'Da' when he pulls into the driveway, it counts as a real word."

Communication Cues:

• Ask her questions about the pictures in her books.
• Listen and respond, even when she babbles.
• Give her one-step directions to follow ("I want you to bring the book over to mommy").
• Offer choices ("Do you want milk or juice?") so she has the opportunity to use words rather than responding by just shaking her head.

18 to 24 months: Verbal growth spurt

Your toddler can now say about 50-100 words (and understand 300) including pronouns such as "mine," animal sounds such as "moo," and commands such as "move." In fact, he'll use mostly words now to communicate, although some may be approximations. Expect him to leave off final sounds ("buh" for book), syllables ("e-fant" for elephant) or parts of consonant blends ("tory" for story).

Your child will ask for common foods by name and if you offer him an apple, cheese and a telephone, he'll know that only the first two are for eating. There's now an understanding of simple verbs, such as eat and sleep - not that he'll do either when you want him to - and adjectives such as hot, soft and dirty.

He'll correctly pronounce most vowels as well as consonants such as "p, " "m," "h,""n" and "w" which are easier to say. Don't be surprised to hear substitutions of more difficult sounds, such as "weed" for read or "biss" for kiss. And as he's likely already demonstrated on your outings to the market, he hasn't yet grasped command of his volume or pitch.

Communication Cues:

• Engaging him in pretend play such as talking on the phone or feeding a doll
• Teaching him simple songs and nursery rhymes
• Encouraging him to talk to friends and family; suggest he tell them about a new toy
• Describing to him what he is doing ("You're eating all your peas!"), feeling ("You're so happy to see Zachary today.") and hearing ("That lawn mower is very loud.")

2-3 years: Generation why

You've most likely already been bombarded with what and where questions; you now may be hearing a barrage of whys. That's just one sign that your child's linguistic skills are growing more complex. She also now understands opposites and number concepts and can follow a two- or three-step request. She'll use plurals and past tense verbs as she carries on sustained conversations--whether with you or one of her stuffed animals. Her vocabulary is still growing, and she has a greater mastery of nouns and verbs but is still unable to articulate exactly what she means. "When she says "Mommy sock,' it is unclear whether she means 'Mommy has a sock,' 'This is Mommy's sock,' or 'Mommy is putting on my sock,'" says Heidi M. Feldman, M.D., Ph.D., professor of pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. More complex constructions begin toward the end of this year, once the child is using three or more words in a sentence.

Communication Cues:

• Ask questions about things that interest her: "What is teddy doing" and "Where is the cat?"
• Continue to read and sing to her.
• Introduce the alphabet.
• Give her two- and three-step directions to follow.
• Use adjectives to build on words she knows, such as "gigantic dog" or "beautiful flower."

3 to 4 years: Let's talk

At age 3, your child can probably make most speech sounds (though there may be some distortion of the more difficult ones such as l, r, s, and v). He can be fully understood-even by people outside his family. He'll make comments ("You have two cookies") and requests ("I have your cookie?"), and he won't be shy about telling others what to do ("give me cookie"). He'll be able to express his ideas and feelings and will do so through made-up stories and pretend situations.

When he is 4, he'll know as many as 1,500 words and be able to string them together in increasingly complex sentences. He'll use descriptive words ("That big yellow truck is muddy") and will be able to explain the function of objects when asked ("An umbrella keeps you dry in the rain"). He'll understand the various tenses and be able to use proper grammar ("Yesterday we went to the zoo" and "After dinner, we will watch TV"). By the end of this year, he may embark on the next phase of language development: learning to visually recognize a few words, such as his name or words on a sign.

Communication Cues:

• Read simple stories and talk about them with your child; ask him to tell you who is his favorite character.
• Make a game out of sorting items into categories.
• Ask him to repeat what he said if you don't understand it completely; this shows him that what he says is important to you

How language evolves

The way your child communicates with you changes as she grows. Below, a stage-by-stage look at how your little one makes a simple request.

Birth - 3 months:	Cries when hungry.
4 - 6 months:	Looks at bottle.
7-9 months:	Looks at bottle and squeals.
10-12 months:	Points to bottle.
12-18 months:	Says "muh" for milk.
18-24 months:	Says "mo mick" for more milk.
2-3 years	Says "Me more milk."
3-4 years	Says "I want more milk."
4-5 years	Says, "Mommy, I want more milk please."

Signs of speech delay

The more in tune you are with your child's language development, the quicker you'll be able to spot a problem. Here are some things to be on the lookout for.

• Your baby doesn't coo, gurgle, or babble as an infant.
• She isn't making eye contact or paying attention to spoken language by the time she's 12 months.
• He's unable to follow simple directions ("Show Mommy where your feet are") by his first birthday.
• She has a vocabulary of fewer than 50 words by 18 months.
• He isn't using two-word combinations by age 2 and short phrases by 3.
• You can't understand her most of the time by age 4.

If you're concerned, talk to your pediatrician. If you need to, you can find a speech pathologist through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association at www.asha.org.