From Sound To Words And Sentences
Baby talk, also called babbling or twaddling, is what infants utter. They seem to be experimenting by uttering sounds in order to acquire language. They are not yet able to utter recognizable words. The larynx descends during the first year allowing the pharynx to develop with all the sounds that make up the speech. When the infant is 5 to 7 months old, the baby talk begins with the making of noise. Recognizable words begin to be produced when the child is about a year old. The baby repeats syllables which are called reduplicative babbling. The baby babbles with a mix of syllables which is called variegated babbling. Children babble more when they are calm rather than when they are upset or excited. Babbling is also the way babies attempt to prepare themselves with the basic sounds required to speak the language. Even deaf babies babble indicating that babbling is inherent to humans.
Gurgling and cooing begins at birth up to 4 months. Babbling starts when the baby is 4 to 6 months old. Babbling is enjoyed by the baby up to 12 months or so. Between 12-18 months babbling turns to being meaningful when the toddlers begins to imitate sounds and words. The toddlers begin to repeat words at the age of 18 to 24 months. That is when babbling takes on to becoming meaningful words. They are able to use about 50 words. But they understand many more. They then begin to form short sentences. They may use familiar words incorrectly. The baby begins with crying and begins to coo moving on to vocal play. This is followed by canonical babbling and then on to 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.
It will help the babies to develop if the babbling of the babies is responded by adults with babbling. Adding some simple adult speech to this will help the baby in developing vocabulary. The baby’s cognitive development too benefits. In the end anyway the baby will be able to speak the local language.
Tags: babies, Baby, baby language, baby talk, children, family, learning to talk, parenting, talking, toddlers, understanding babiesPosted in
