Language acquisition

Language at Baby: basics from birth

It is from his life in utero that the child begins to acquire language. Once his eardrums have formed, around the 6th month of pregnancy, he will rock in a world of sounds and rhythms. that’s why from birth, the newborn is already able to distinguish his mother tongue from a foreign language based on their melodies. Because he hears it better than others, his mother’s voice is also more familiar to him.

Up to 7 months: sounds above all

Very quickly, a baby manages to differentiate the vowels. For consonants, it takes about a month before it can recognize the sounds / pa / and / ba /, for example. If he perceives the phonetic contrasts, this does not mean that he manages to reproduce them. The “areuh” that some babies produce are in fact voluntary only around 5 months. Before, they are just uncontrolled expressions of his feelings (well-being, discomfort…). If communication takes longer to come, understanding does not. From 4 months, a baby distinguishes his or her first name from another given name with the same number of syllables.

From 7 months to 1 year: the age of babbling

Not all children babble, even if they have the physiological capacity around 7 months. It all depends on their personality. However, some choose to repeat the syllables they manage to pronounce to practice language: they do their linguistic gymnastics. At 8 months, scientists estimate that the child is able to recognize a word when it is presented in a sentence. He first retains the sound, which later, around 10 months, will become meaningful. You can then start reading picture books to him, they will help him to enrich his vocabulary.

Baby’s first words

It is on average at the age of one year that a child pronounces his first words. He is also already able to recognize the grammatical words of his language (articles, aids, etc.). Little by little, the child begins to be able to detach a word from its context: that is to say to understand it, even if what it represents is out of sight. His vocabulary is enriched more and more. He knows many words without being able to say them yet. And at 15 months, your baby understands the sentences. Indeed, at this stage, he distinguishes nouns from verbs or articles and can decipher your words. He then perceives the difference between “Daddy walks the dog” and “the dog walks Daddy”.

Between 18 months and 2 years: his language improves

Research has shown that at 18 months, a child’s vocabulary is considerably enriched. It is during this period that he will voluntarily put intonation in his words: questions and exclamations become intentional.. It is also before 2 years that some children begin to formulate short sentences, even if their articulation is still imperfect. At this age, the child does not yet master the use of linking words but constructs sentences whose syntax is correct enough to be understood by an adult.

At 3 years old: the child speaks almost as well as an adult

By 3 years old, all children in the world have as good an understanding of their mother tongue as adults and can speak. Because their vocal apparatus is not yet mature, they still find it difficult to articulate well.. Some consonants can also cause them real problems. But they are ready to discover the joys of conversation and will now have to learn to listen!

Language delay in children

Just because your child is not doing exactly the way above does not mean he is necessarily late. As in all other aspects of their psychomotor development, each child learns at their own pace. The ages indicated here are only averages, in an area where individual variability is important. However, if from 18 months your child does not seem to understand what you are saying to him, it is necessary to wonder. Ask him for something simple, without walking the talk. If your baby does not respond, he may be having trouble hearing.

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