Language is the process of defining sounds, creating new words, stringing words together for new meaning and placing them in different combinations to make them appropriate for different situations, according to the American Speech-Hearing-Language Association. Humans aren't born with the ability to understand or utilize language, but they rapidly develop language skills within their first few years of life.
Typical Rate of Development
All children develop language at a different pace, but they tend to follow a natural timetable as they master their language skills, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. As a result, children are expected to reach certain developmental milestones--starting with the basic and progressing to more complicated skills--at general ages and times. Health professionals use these milestones to gauge children's development and to get them appropriate help when they seem to be behind.
Baby Language Development
Although newborns aren't able to speak, they begin to communicate within their first days of life when they learn that crying will usually bring comfort and nourishment, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Over time, infants can sort out and recognize the basic sounds of their native language. Their bodies also mature to create controlled sounds, such as cooing, babbling and using repetitive syllables such as "da da da da." Eventually, their coos and babbles turn into nonsensical speech sounds, and by their first year, they are often able to produce a few basic words in their native language.
Early Childhood Milestones
Most toddlers between ages 1 and 2 can string together one- to two-word sentence fragments, such as "more milk," and ask questions, such as "What's that?" according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Between ages 2 and 3, most children have a word for just about everything, and they are able to string together two or three words. Children between 3 and 4 years old can answer simple who-what-why-where questions, and their sentences are longer and clearer. By age 5, children can understand most of what they are told at home and in school, and they are able to use descriptive language.
Fostering Language Development
Since children observe others in order to pick up on language, it's important to talk around your child on a regular basis, according to "Parents" magazine. Have conversations with him, sing to him, play games such as pat-a-cake, hum around him, repeat his babbles and read to him from the time he is a newborn. As he grows, you may reinforce the proper pronunciation of the sounds he makes. For example, if he says "ba" when he sees a ball, you may want to say, "You're right, that is a ball," rather than say "ba" back at him. The richer your vocabulary is the more he will learn.
Signs of Abnormal Development
Kids Health from Nemours recommends seeking evaluation for your child if, between ages 1 and 2, she isn't using gestures, such as pointing or waving, and has trouble understanding simple requests. Also, if she seems to prefer using gestures over communicative vocalizations or doesn't imitate sounds by age 18 months, you may have a reason to be concerned. You should also get your child evaluated if, by age 2, she can only imitate speech but doesn't produce words on her own, she has trouble communicating more than her basic immediate needs, she can't follow simple directions, she has an unusual tone or her language is more difficult to understand than language of other children her age.
References
- National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders: Speech and Language
- American Speech-Hearing-Language-Hearing Association: What Is Language? What Is Speech?
- American Speech-Hearing-Language-Hearing Association: Birth to One Year
- Hearing, Speech & Deafness Center: Encouraging Speech and Language Development
- Kids Health from Nemours: Delayed Speech or Language Development
