Stages of Language Development
One of the most important components of children's cognitive and social development is language
development. It describes the process by which a child learns to perceive, create, and use words in
order to comprehend and interact with others. Both biological maturation and environmental interaction
have an impact on this development, which happens in a predictable series of stages.
1. Cooing Stage (Around 1 Month of Age)
Cooing, which starts around the age of one month, is the earliest stage of language development.
Cooing is the term used to describe how babies make vowel-like sounds like "oo," "aa," and "ee."
Usually produced when the child is happy or stimulated by interaction, these sounds are gentle and
melodic.
All infants, regardless of their native tongue, make similar vocalizations at this age. The sounds they
make are not linguistically or culturally distinct.
The linguistic environment has not yet affected this biologically pre - programmed response.
For instance, a one-month-old infant may make long, drawn-out noises like "oooo" or "aaaa" while
they are in a crib and staring at a moving toy.
2. Babbling Stage (Around 3 to 6 Months of Age)
Babbling starts at three months and lasts until the child is six to nine months old.
The repetitive production of consonant-vowel combinations like "ba-ba," "ma-ma," or "da-da" is
known as babble.
Babbling is universal at first. Regardless of their linguistic background, all babies make similar sounds.
Around six months, though, the child's babbling starts to mimic the intonations and sounds of their
mother tongue.
> Important Observation: Babbling is increasingly influenced by the linguistic environment, whereas
cooing sounds are the same for all children. For instance, a baby raised in an English-speaking
household might begin making English-common sounds, whereas a child raised in a Hindi-speaking
household might ramble in ways that mirror Hindi phonetics.
3. One-Word Stage (Holophrastic Speech) – Around 12 Months
Children usually reach the one-word stage of language development at the age of 12 months.
Definition: During this stage, a child expresses needs or emotions or represents entire ideas with single
words, called holophrases.
