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Within first 3 months
Able to respond to caregiver with eye contact and some vocalizations. Begin learning how to signal caregivers and understanding a stimulus-response sequence, such as crying to get caregiver's attention to attend to a need. -
Two Weeks Old
Develops the ability to distinguish caregivers' faces and voices from strangers. -
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By 3-4 months old
By participating in routines and games with caregivers, babies develop understanding of rituals, patterns, turn taking and that there are rules for different situations and activities. -
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By 8-9 months
Infants begin forming intentional communication. They are beginning to understand reasons behind gestures they see and the purpose of the people around them as they pertain to the infant's life and needs. They also begin tuning out the word sounds not found in their native language and focus on the ones that are. -
Around 1 year old
The infant will begin using meaningful first words to make demands and/or statements. -
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18-24 months
The early toddler develops the ability to use representation and symbolism in their interactions in play and/or with caregivers. They begin using one word sentences to express desires. Vocabularies grow to around 2-300 words on average, depending on the child's environment. -
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Preschool Aged
Through trial and error, grammatical rules and syntax are developed. The time spent on one subject in a conversation is still relatively short (around 2 turns). -
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School-Age years (5-11)
Most syntax is developed by age 5, but the more complex and abstract language continues to develop throughout the school-age years. -
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Adolescence (12-18)
As part of figuring out their own identity, teenagers use slang and other colorful language with their friends and peers. Figurative language, the use of idioms and other creative language is common. -
Adult Language
Throughout our lives our vocabulary (should!) continue to grow as we have more experiences and (hopefully!) read more books. Depending on the people around us, our dialect may shift, or we may acquire a different lingo/jargon based on our occupations.