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Script Below:
Hello and welcome back curious parents!
Ah, the first word. I remember mine like it was just yesterday. Wait… maybe it was just yesterday.
A baby’s first word is an exciting milestone! But for some parents, it can also be nerve-wracking if their baby isn’t talking when expected. I mean, honestly… how do we go from “this” to… “this”? Here’s the thing – there’s no “one-size-fits-all” for learning, even if we do have language stepping stones that most kids tend to follow. Every kiddo is unique.
Besides, before a kid even says their first word, they have to do… a lot of (other) impressive things, first.
Word learning is such a big process, we needed two videos to tackle it. Today in the HELLO Lab, we cover Part 1, where we go on a “guided tour” of the communication milestones that lead up to the first word. Ok, I’ll stop my “babbling” so we can get to learning!
Before we start exploring milestones, we should mention something important. The idea of a true “first word” is kind of a myth. Why? Because it’s actually hard to determine exactly when “word-ish” forms become, well, word forms. This transition is a really cool, but gradual process. Early on, babies use “not-yet-real-but-almost-real” words called protowords. They sound and look like real words, but you can tell they are just approximations, still a bit off the mark (Stark, 1981*; McDuffie, 2021*).
Protowords show us that a kiddo has already picked up a lot about their home language: the sounds, the rhythm, the melody, and even the visual patterns (McDuffie, 2021*). They also clue us in to the fact that babies understand, or at least have started to understand, the meaning behind what they’re saying (McDuffie, 2021*).
We can think of these as a kind of “bridge” to real words. But because they serve the same purpose as “adult” words… some might argue they are words. They just sound and look different.
You might have heard at one point or another that babies start saying their first words near their first birthdays. This is an important developmental marker to keep in mind for sure, but knowing about the crucial steps it takes to get there is important, too.
Milestones help guide expectations and keep us informed of how our kiddos are growing up so that we can offer the best support possible (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, n.d.)
Here are the beginning steps to look out for before your kid says their first word (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, n.d.; Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024):
The crucial building blocks of communication actually start at birth, maybe even before (Gervain, 2018*). After birth, a newborn baby doesn’t know that their cries and adorable body wiggles are actually communicating something (like being hangry or uncomfortable).
At this (very) early stage, when babies cry or vocalize, we call them vegetative sounds, or sounds little ones make due to sensations in their bodies, like hunger (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, n.d.; Sheldrick & Perrin, 2013). These are reflexive, involuntary and NOT attempts to intentionally communicate with another person (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, n.d.; Oller, Eilers, Neal, & Schwartz, 1999).
But this soon changes and these precursors start to morph into something else. The first 3 months or so are actually a pretty wild time for budding language users. At this point, little guys move from reflexive “noises” to making different sounds based on how they’re feeling in the moment (sad, happy, tired) (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, n.d.; Sheldrick & Perrin, 2013; Stark, Bernstein & Demorest, 1993). And, for babies with typical hearing, parents also start to notice the first speech-like, vowel sounds, although they are very much “first drafts” of the later adult versions (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, n.d.; McDuffie, 2021*). This stage is also called the “cooing and gooing” stage (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, n.d.; Morgan & Wren, 2018). Let’s take a look at some examples!
At this stage, babies also start to consistently turn towards things they might hear or see in the environment (especially when they hear the voice of their parents or other caregivers) (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, n.d.; Capute, Palmer, Shapiro, Wachtel, Schmidt, & Ross, 1986*; Coplan, Gleason, Ryan, Burke, & Williams, 1982; Morgan & Wren, 2018 ; Sheldrick & Perrin, 2013). You can imagine that after a little while, little ones probably start to notice a pattern – that every time they cry or wiggle, their parents feed, burp, or comfort them with touches, smiles, baby talk, and singing. So, when does this lightbulb moment happen? We’re not sure exactly when it starts, but babies seem to figure it out pretty quickly – we actually have some evidence that by 5 months, they’ve already learned that when they make a noise or vocalization, mama, dada, grandma and others respond, and that helps them feel connected (Goldstein, Schwade & Bornstein, 2009).
Within 2-4 months, babies and their parents are already sharing smiles and other facial expressions like sticking out their tongues (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, n.d.; Capute, Palmer, Shapiro, Wachtel, Schmidt, & Ross, 1986*; Coplan, Gleason, Ryan, Burke, & Williams, 1982). More vowel-like sounds and other gestures soon follow. While this is all fun and adorable, it’s also the very start of learning “conversational” turn-taking and sharing emotions back and forth (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, n.d.; Crais, Douglas & Cox, 2004*).
By 4-6 months, most little ones are now making all sorts of noises and movements. They’re laughing, giggling, and interacting with toys and objects. They also start to vocalize more while playing with you, and start to make simple noises made up of pairs of vowels and consonants (i.e. “gaaaaaaaa”) (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, n.d.; Capute, Palmer, Shapiro, Wachtel, Schmidt, & Ross, 1986*; Crowe & McLeod, 2020).
Babies at this stage also start to do something else – babbling. There are actually different types of babbling; And, the first kind happens right here around 4 to 6 months. It involves repeating the same syllable over and over, and I am sure we all have heard it before. Something like “ba ba ba ba” or “da da da da”. Babies who are D/deaf and hard of hearing also babble. They just do it with their hands. At 6 months, babies also start to learn the concept of “contingency”, meaning they’re getting the hint that when they vocalize something or use a certain gesture, their caregivers are likely to vocalize or gesture back. Consistent responses from parents at this age help babies develop more back-and-forth communication later on. In fact, at this point, babies have come to expect these responses so much that if a parent suddenly stops responding, they get a little, uh, weirded out (Elmlinger, Schwade, Vollmer, & Goldstein, 2022; Goldstein, Schwade & Bornstein, 2009).
Also by 6 months or more, babies look at mama, dada, and other caregivers when their own name is called. At this stage they recognize the names of many common objects, like feet and banana (Bergelson & Swingley, 2012; Tincoff & Jusczyk, 1999).
By close to 7-8 months, contingency continues to develop. They are also now making much longer strings of sounds and babbling with new syllable combos like “ga-gi-goo” and “ba-da-gi-goo” (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, n.d.; Morgan & Wren, 2018; Oller, Eilers, Neal, & Schwartz, 1999*; Sheldrick, Schlichting, Berger, Clyne, Ni, Perrin, & Vivier, 2019).
By 9 months, babies participate in, and really start to understand, the concept of “joint attention” (Beuker, Rommelse, Donders, & Buitelaar, 2013*). This is a moment of shared focus between you and your little one. This means that you and your baby might be looking at or interacting with the same toy, and you both know that the other knows it too. It’s really quite special.
Not long after this super cool skill emerges, babies start to take more control and don’t just join in on joint attention, but create moments of joint attention themselves by directing your focus! This is why they start looking where you point or even pointing themselves – they’re telling you, “hey! Let’s check this out together!”
Finally, by around 12 months, it all comes together. Here, a baby says their first meaningful, “true” words (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, n.d.). These words still might not look or sound quite like how the adults do it, but they’re close! Importantly, by the time a kiddo reaches this stage of language growth, they’ve already learned a lot about the purpose of communication.
Soon after this, kids begin to grow their little “word gardens” with astonishing speed. By their 2nd birthday, kids can say about 50 words… but understand hundreds.
Remember – to a certain degree, every kid learns language on their own time. But let’s not downplay it – many kids do end up needing extra help, and some of them are not identified until later in their school years. (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, n.d.; Dale, Price, Bishop, & Plomin, 2003; Weismer, Venker, Evans, & Moyle, 2013) .We can think of milestones as signals – they tell us what details to pay attention to and when, but we should always zoom out and look at the bigger picture.
You already play a huge role in shaping your kid’s early language experiences. And if it turns out your kiddo does need some extra help… There are tons of caring professionals and helpful tools available to help you help your kid.
You know your little one best. Trust your instincts and theirs! If it turns out your kid needs some extra help, that’s ok! All kids deserve the space they need to communicate in their own way.
That was Part 1 of our series on early word learning. In Part 2, we pivot from when little ones learn words to how they actually do such a complex thing in the first place.
Thanks for watching! Until next time.
Looking to do a deeper dive? Check out our “Evidence Library” on our website to learn all about the research that helped us make this episode! Link in description.
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