Baby Talk Milestones: Stages of Language Development

Initial Vocalizations (Birth - 2 Months)

At this stage, baby's sounds are primarily reflexive, related to their physical state, such as discomfort, hunger, or contentment.

Coos and Smiles (2 - 4 Months)

Baby's vocalizations expand, often including cooing and gurgling sounds, particularly velar sounds like "ga". Smiles begin to accompany these sounds.

Vocal Play (4 - 6 Months)

Babies begin to produce sounds voluntarily, experimenting with their voices. This is a sensory-motor activity, similar to exploring movement with their hands and eyes.

Canonical Babbling (6+ Months)

Syllables emerge, typically in two structures: CV (e.g., "pa") and VCV (e.g., "ata"). Two types of canonical babbling are observed:

• Reduplicated babbling: Repeating similar syllables, such as "bababa" or "gaga," with varying rhythm and intonation.
• Melodic babbling: Longer chains of sounds with varied melodies and intonation, like "aaaága" or "aaaábuadaa."

Canonical babbling is a precursor to language development and may be influenced by the language(s) in the baby's environment.

Conversational Babbling (10+ Months)

This stage coincides with the beginning of true language development, as children start to understand and produce their first words. A wider range of tones and melodies appears, and sounds begin to reflect the specific language(s) in their environment.

This stage is called conversational babbling because it resembles a back-and-forth exchange, like a protoconversation. It's also known as modulated babbling due to the variety of melodies and sound chains produced. Babies often incorporate sounds into their activities, providing extensive practice in sound production and perception.