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Period: to
Infancy
0-12 months -
Period: to
Language Milestones
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Use/Pragmatics at Birth
Lydia prefers infant-directed speech to adult-directed speech. For example, when Mommy says "Who's my sweet little girl?", Lydia smiles. She is engaging with her parents by enjoying their reactions to the things she does and is especially interested in their faces. She also expresses herself with the movements of her head, body, arms, and legs. -
Form/Phonology at 2 Months
Lydia is able to distinguish her own language from the other languages happening around her. She is also starting to make cooing and gooing sounds. For example, when her brother's friend came over for a sleepover, she recognized he spoke Spanish. -
Use/Pragmatics at 2 Months
Lydia is now aware of the people she meets that she does not know and when she is in foreign (to her) situations. She will briefly look at people's faces. An example is when her aunt visited her for the first time, and she cried when she was put in her arms. -
Form/Phonology at 4 Months
Lydia can now distinguish languages in the same rhythmic class (syllable structures, intonation, tone, stress, etc.). She also produces vowel sounds, vowel glides (going from one vowel to another in the same sound), squeals, and growling sounds. An example is shown here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjvZQr-YGJw -
Use/Pragmatics at 5 Months
Lydia can now recognize her own name and she is able to keep a fixed gaze on other's faces. She is beginning to engage in joint attention. Lydia's mother was delighted to see when she comes home from work and calls Lydia's name she turns her head to greet her. -
Content/Semantics at 6 Months
Lydia attempts to imitate the gestures used by the people around her. She is also able to understand the word no. For example, Lydia's mother uses the sign for more, and Lydia has started to imitate her. -
Content/Semantics at 8 Months
Lydia can look in the right direction for objects that are out of sight and she searches for objects that are not completely visible. Lydia's mom asked her if she wanted her milk, and her head turned to the kitchen where her milk usually is. -
Content/Semantics at 11 Months
Lydia now understands the rational actions of the adults around her in achieving a particular goal. She can produce her first word, but she understands about 5-10 words. For example, Lydia's father was so thrilled to hear his name was her first word, and Lydia seems to understand the word milk. -
Form/Phonology at 12 Months
Lydia no longer discriminates between two pronunciations of the same phoneme. She can identify words in speech that do not conform to the native language stress pattern. She can identify the function words in utterances. She is babbling with words that are at least two syllables, have at least two different consonants and vowels, has the ability to emphasize certain syllables, and is able change her pitch to match her emotions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtMGYOVULhM -
Period: to
Toddlerhood
12-36 months -
Content/Semantics at 12 Months
Lydia has learned a second word and repeats it constantly throughout the night. Lydia's favorite word is "woof"! She drives her mom a little crazy because she's constantly repeating it when she sees the family dog. -
Syntax and Morphology at 12 Months
50% of Lydia's utterances consist of single nouns. Lydia now knows that their family pet is a dog, and she will say "doggie!" whenever she sees it. -
Use/Pragmatics at 13 Months
Lydia uses referential gestures to describe some items that she knows. When concentrating on certain tasks she is able to use her line of regard. When she sees other people doing things, she can infer their intentions through gestures, posture of her body, and voice direction. For example, Lydia can tell her mother is distressed when she is slouched over and her hands are covering her face. -
Form/Phonology at 13 Months
Lydia can only speak a few words but the rest of her speech is not intelligible. For example, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioP0Tdwx95w -
Content/Semantics at 15 Months
Lydia speaks between 3 and 20 words. For example, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_cZi0VyYms -
Form: Syntax & Morphology at 16 Months
Lydia uses the word no, emphatically. She is using single nouns about 1/3 of the time in all of her declarative utterances. Her Mean Length of Utterance (MLU) is approximately 1.31 and she is considered to be in Brown's Stage I. Lydia loves to say "no!" to her mother and father when they do something she doesn't like. -
Form/Phonology at 17 Months
Lydia pronounces about 25% of all the words she knows intelligibly. For example, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXsWKDBIJ10 -
Use/Pragmatics at 18 Months
Lydia is doing very well with verbal turn taking. Lydia and her mother practice verbal turn taking at dinner every night; they pass food back and forth and take turns talking about it. -
Syntax and Morphology at 19 Months
Her MLU is now 1.59 and has begun using grammatical morphemes, such as the present progressive -ing. Lydia's favorite word is currently "playing". For example, "Mommy I playing!" -
Content/Semantics at 20 months
Lydia is now producing about 50 words and she is using some adjectives and verbs. Lydia has been telling her mother that she thinks she is pretty, and Lydia also calls herself pretty very often. -
Use/Pragmatics at 20 Months
Lydia has learned to use gesture-word and two-gesture combinations. In this article, https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/developmental-milestones/articles/baby-and-toddler-milestones-16-gestures-16-months#:~:text=to%20change%20later.-,Research%20with%20young%20children%20indicates%20that%20the%20development%20of%20gestures,have%20at%20least%2016%20gestures. it shows the 16 gestures a child should have by 16 months. -
Form/Phonology at 21 Months
Lydia is now processing her spoken words gradually. Lydia takes more time to think when her parents speak to her which shows how she is starting to understand more complex speech. -
Use/Pragmatics at 24 Months
Lydia is now using several forms of language functions: imaginative, heuristic, and informative. Lydia has been enjoying telling her mother about things she sees at school, and pretending that she or her mother are imaginative things. -
Form/Phonology at 24 Months
Lydia has begun to ask questions with rising intonation and pronounces about 65% of her words intelligibly. Lydia's mother has noticed that her pitch of her voice raises a lot when she is angry or excited, and it gets lower when she's sad or tired. -
Form: Syntax & Morphology at 25 Months
Lydia has begun to use two-word combinations, is able to use the words in and on (prepositions), can use plural and possessive morphemes, and has stated some irregular past tense verbs - such as ate for eat and sat for sit. Her MLU is about 1.92 and is in Brown's Stage II. Lydia knows that saying Lydia's toy means that it is hers, and that boats means that there is more than one boat. -
Content/Semantics at 25 months
Lydia produces almost 200 words, but understands over 500 words. For example, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXfIKKCuDK0 -
Content/Semantics at 27 Months
Lydia overgeneralizes about 1/3 of all the new words she is learning, including categorical, analogical, and relational. For instance, she has learned the word kitty. She knows that cats have 4 legs and a tail and calls every 4-legged animal with a tail that she sees "kitty!" -
Use/Pragmatics at 28 Months
Lydia is now able to introduce or change the subject and is participating in short dialogues. Her mother gets frustrated sometimes because Lydia will often change the subject at dinner to something completely irrelevant to the conversation. -
Form/Phonology at 28 Months
Lydia can pronounce about 70% of all her words intelligibly. She demonstrates certain phonological processes, such as omitting or substituting consonants. -
Form: Syntax & Morphology at 29 Months
Lydia has reached Brown's Stage III early by using three-element sentences and her independent clauses have emerged. Lydia can also use -ing (present progressive morpheme) with proficiency. For example, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0MGEifC7Do -
Content/Semantics at 33 months
Lydia now understands about 900 words and produces approximately 500 words. Her parents have a hard time keeping up with all the words she can now say and understand. She has also begun to ask simple questions. Lydia loves to ask where her toys are, and where mommy is. -
Form/Phonology at 34 Months
At almost three years of age, Lydia is making fewer phonological processes, such as fronting and assimilation. Her pronunciation of words is over 80% intelligible. For example, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2ZmUSZXuFc -
Use/Pragmatics at 35 Months
When she is engaged in a conversation, Lydia can now clarify and also request clarification to better understand. For example, Lydia asks her dad "what dress are you talking about?". -
Form: Syntax & Morphology at 35 Months
Lydia uses some contractions, 1/4 of all her utterances consist of single nouns and 1/4 are single verbs. Her MLU is 2.93. Lydia knows how to use "don't" and can't". -
Period: to
Preschool
36-60 months -
Form: Syntax & Morphology at 36 months
Lydia's sentences now contain between 4 and 5 words. She can also use compound sentences by using the word "and". For example, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mTh54Y58dF8. -
Form/Phonology at 37 Months
Lydia has started to develop shallow phonological awareness (her sensitivity to the sound structure of words). Lydia can rhyme simple words, and she recognizes there are different numbers of syllables in words. -
Content/Semantics at 37 months
Lydia now uses the pronouns they, them, and us. She continues to use fast-mapping (the general representation of a word when only hearing it once) in her acquisition of new words. Lydia now refers to her cousins as "they" or "them" such as "They went outside." or "I'm going to play with them." -
Use/Pragmatics at 38 Months
Lydia can now engage in longer dialogues with those she feels the most comfortable with. Lydia has long conversations with her mother about school, daycare, and her siblings, but whenever her aunt tries to talk to her about those things she only receives short answers. -
Form: Syntax & Morphology at 40 months
Lydia uses pronouns consistently and the adverbs of time. Lydia has begun to use words like "later" or "tomorrow". Lydia's mother says her new favorite sentence is "See you later alligator!" -
Form/Phonology at 41 Months
Lydia continues in the refinement of her articulation skills. Lydia's mother has been bragging about how many member's of their family can understand Lydia perfectly. -
Use/Pragmatics at 41 Months
Lydia has just begun to use primitive narratives, which are usually uninterrupted streams of words which will introduce a topic and any relevant information pertaining to the topic, which can be difficult when speaking with her Gammy. For example she said, "I went to school today. My dog stayed home. I drew a picture of my mom, and I gave it to her after school." She is also making conversational repairs. -
Content/Semantics at 42 months
Lydia is now using between 1,000 to 1,500 words and comprehends between 1,500 to 2,000 words. She is beginning to understand some relational terms such as up and down. Lydia now understands what her mother means when she references something is "up there" or "down in the cabinet". -
Content/Semantics at 43 months
Lydia understands some kinship words, like brother, sister, grandmother (who she calls Gammy), and uncle (her mother's brother, who she calls Unca James). She can also use syntactic information to narrow the possible meanings of some new words that she has heard. -
Form/Phonology at 44 Months
Lydia has mastered most consonants. She uses, "p, b, m, d, n, h, t, k, g, w, ng, f, y" pretty fluently, and is working on some other consonants like "l, j, ch, s, v, sh, z". -
Form: Syntax & Morphology at 45 months
Lydia now uses article words, past tense, and contractions consistently. Lydia now uses a, an, and; she uses "can't" and "don't". For example, "Don't eat my candy daddy! I played a game to get that in school!" -
Form: Syntax & Morphology at 45 months
Lydia is now using four to seven words in her sentences. She uses both contractible, such as "That's my baby brother crying" and uncontractible " Mommy is sleeping" auxiliaries. She is now beginning to use irregular third person verbs. -
Use/Pragmatics at 45 Months
Lydia understands indirect requests when they are accompanied by nonverbal pointing. For example, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cIo0PkBs2c. This video demonstrates nonverbal gestures to communicate that Lydia is beginning to understand. -
Content/Semantics at 47 months
Lydia overextends new words on the basis of object function, which are the differences of specific or generic sentences. To infer the meaning of new words, she uses Animacy information (a grammatical and semantic feature, existing in some languages, expressing how sentient or alive the referent of a noun is). She can now use the reflexive pronouns of himself, herself, and itself. When Lydia saw her cat grooming herslef she said, "She's cleaning herself Gammy! I wanna clean myself too!" -
Form/Phonology at 48 Months
Lydia has decreased the use of phonological processes such as weak-syllable deletion and cluster reduction. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWzM4HCI3g0 -
Use/Pragmatics at 50 Months
Lydia is now using the language functions of interpretive, logical, participatory, and organizing. She is also constructing true narratives. For example, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERDtfjAWVLU. -
Content/Semantics at 51 months
Lydia now uses such phrases as "what do, what did, and what does" questions. Lydia's father often gets annoyed at the amount of questioning Lydia does while he is doing things around the house. "What do those buttons do? What does that word mean? What did you do with that cup yesterday?" -
Form: Syntax & Morphology at 53 months
Lydia now uses subordination and coordination in sentences and uses irregular plural forms consistently. Lydia's favorite animal is a sheep, and she started saying "sheep" rather than "sheeps". -
Form/Phonology at 53 Months
Lydia's connected speech is very intelligible. She has mastered almost all the consonant sounds but still has trouble in the mastery in all contexts. 'sh', 'ch', 'j', 'l', 'r', 'th' can take until seven or eight years old to master, and Lydia mainly struggles with "r" sounds as she still uses glides occasionally. -
Use/Pragmatics at 55 Months
Lydia is now using indirect requests. Lydia has started to say, "I'm feeling a little hungry" instead of asking to eat. Another example is "I really like that dress I wish I had one like that". Lydia's mother says she often does that at the store when she wants a new dress. -
Use/Pragmatics at 57 Months
Lydia's narratives now have a sequence of events but there is still no main character or theme to her story. She often leaves her Gammy waiting for more context because she doesn't understand what Lydia's point of her story is. For example, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQv5E0zxatU. -
Form/Phonology at 58 Months
Lydia knows that the letters L-Y-D-I-A make up her own name. She still uses some phonological processes such as substitution and liquid gliding. She sometimes says wunch instead of lunch and mewwy instead of merry. She only shows a little residual difficulty in later-developing sounds. -
Content/Semantics at 59 months
Lydia now uses between 1,500 to 2,000 words, but comprehends between 2,500 to 2,800 words. She now uses deictic terms such as this, that, here, and there. Lydia's mom has to get on to her for saying, "This is so stupid!". -
Form: Syntax & Morphology at 59 months
Lydia now combines between five and eight words in her sentences. Lydia loves to talk about her career: "I want to be a princess when I grow up!".