Stages in Oral Language Development

Question 1

in the first 12 months, a baby makes noises and gestures as pre-speech is used to communicate

Answer 1

prelinguistic stage (cooing and babbling)

Question 2

starting around 10-12 months, a child begins to use one-word communication to express what he wants

Answer 2

holophrastic stage (one word)

Question 3

around 20 months, a child begins to use two-word phrases to communicate saying things like “me drink” or “no shoe”

Answer 3

two-word stage

Question 4

around 2.5-3 years old, children begin to express themselves with shortened speech, as in a telegraph, saying things like, “me go now”.

Answer 4

telegraphic stage

Question 5

the beginning of this stage is marked by simple sentences. typically in place by age 5.

Answer 5

intermediate development stage

Question 6

speech is refined, strong vocabulary is present, and pragmatics (the way speech is expressed) is as expected

Answer 6

adult stage