Baby talk, also called babbling or twaddling, is what infants utter. They seem to be experimenting by uttering sounds in order to acquire language. They are not yet able to utter recognizable words. The larynx descends during the first year allowing the pharynx to develop with all the sounds that make up the speech. When the infant is 5 to 7 months old, the baby talk begins with the making of noise. Recognizable words begin to be produced when the child is about a year old. The baby repeats syllables which are called reduplicative babbling. The baby babbles with a mix of syllables which is called variegated babbling. Children babble more when they are calm rather than when they are upset or excited. Babbling is also the way babies attempt to prepare themselves with the basic sounds required to speak the language. Even deaf babies babble indicating that babbling is inherent to humans.
From birth to about 4 months the babies coos and gurgles. When the baby is 4 to 6 months old, it starts babbling. This babbling continues to when the baby is a year or so old. Meaningful sound and words starts emerging between the age of 12 and18 months. Between 18 and 24 months the toddlers starts repeating words. Meaningful words begin to form then with the babbling. About 50 words or so is the vocabulary of the baby. But they are able to understand many more words than they are able to utter. Short sentence begin to form. But then they may not be able to use the words correctly. The progression of the baby is from crying to cooing and then progressing to vocal play. Canonical babbling follows which later becomes conversational babbling.
Sign language is also used by babies as a means for effective communication. Babies can be taught sign language to assist them to avoid being frustrated when they are not able to find the right sound to express themselves. Priscilla Dunstan proclaimed that babies everywhere is found to use a set of five words and that each have a specific meaning. She released The Dunstan Baby Language DVD in 2006 which sets out to teach the method to recognize these sounds.
Babbling of babies, when responded to with babbling by adults is beneficial to the development of babies. Integrating this with some normal adult speech will assist the baby in the development of vocabulary. It assists in the cognitive development of the baby. Eventually the baby will achieve the ability to normally speak the local language no mater what.