As your baby begins to make purposeful sounds, questions may come to mind. When does my baby begin to learn language?

Does acquiring language come naturally to her or does how and what I say matter most?  

Some basic information about the stages of babytalk and your role in helping it evolve will help you to fully enjoy and participate in your baby’s process of learning language.  Here is an explanation of what researchers have discovered about the developmental path of babytalk.

• Prenatal—Remarkably, at the end of 6 or 7 months of pregnancy, a fetus can hear and respond to sounds.  By monitoring a fetus’s heart rate while listening to a variety of sounds, researchers found that a fetus recognizes her mother’s voice.  Because of the watery womb environment, researchers do not believe that a child discerns specific words.  Yet they have established that a fetus knows the sound of its mother’s voice, and that its sound causes the fetus’s heart rate to decrease, which is a sign of calming.
• Newborns—A newborn’s ability to listen to and look at its parents plays an important role in the development of language.  A newborn’s innate desire to interact, especially with its parents, provides a framework that later spoken language fits into.
• Infant—Researchers have established that crying links to learning language.  Although it is less clear if specific pitches of crying mean different things, an infant definitely uses crying to express her hunger, discomfort, and even boredom.  In this way, “conversation” between a verbal cue (crying) and a met need begins.
• Eleven to Twelve Months—Much to a parent’s joy, an infant often says its first meaningful words around eleven or twelve months.  Early on, a parent can keep track of the child’s vocabulary list, but within a short amount of time the list of newly acquired words grows exponentially.  

But the question remains, does a parent’s involvement with babytalk help it evolve into eventual meaningful conversations?   You guessed it,  yes, your role is crucial, and, luckily, much of your part also comes naturally to you.  Here are suggestions and, most likely, affirmations of how you can participate in your child’s language development both prenatal and during the first year.

• By talking to your baby while you are pregnant, you expose him to language and begin equipping him to process what he will hear with clarity as a newborn.  According to research, a fetus does not hear whispering, so a clear speaking voice will help him tune in best.  There is no clear evidence that reading aloud during pregnancy leads to early literacy; however, it is a natural way to create a daily habit of introducing your voice to your baby while in the womb.
• Keeping this conversation going continues with a newborn.  Talk to your baby.  Sing to your baby. Also, one of the best things you can do for your child’s literacy is to attend to his crying with a soothing voice.
• Researchers also agree that using high-pitched, exaggerated 'babytalk' or 'motherese' with your infant does help your baby begin to understand  parts of speech and distinguish between sounds and words.
• For both infants and toddlers, use simple language and vary your tone when describing things.  Be sure to imitate your baby’s language and reflect back—even expand on—what you hear. 
• Lastly, follow your inclination to use both colorful books and rhythmic music to help your baby gain new words and sense of the flow and patterns within speech.

Developing language is a natural human process that needs your active involvement to unfold well.  You, as parents, speak your infant’s language. Your baby looks at and listens to you for verbal cues.  The joy of beginning a conversation with your baby—even in the prenatal stage—never stops.  Language provides the link of understanding between you and your child through adulthood.  Marvel and take part in it as it takes shape. 

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