Hey everyone, welcome back to My Weird Prompts. We are coming to you from our home in Jerusalem, and honestly, the house has been a bit noisier than usual lately, in the best way possible. Our housemate Daniel has been capturing some of those sounds, and today he sent us a prompt that is very close to home. If you heard that audio at the start, you heard little Ezra joining in on the conversation. It is fascinating to hear those early vocalizations, and it raises a huge question about how we go from those squawks and coos to actual, complex language.
Herman Poppleberry here, and I have to say, listening to Ezra is like watching a live laboratory of human development. Daniel was asking about that specific bridge between the pre-linguistic phase and the moment a child starts forming sentences. It is one of the most studied and yet still somewhat mysterious parts of being human. We have talked before about the universal sounds babies make, but the transition into actual language acquisition is where the real complexity kicks in.
It really is. And I think what is interesting for our listeners is that we are focusing today on typical development. We are looking at children who are not on the developmental spectrum, where the variability can be even broader. But even within that typical group, the range of when kids start talking is massive. Some kids are saying words at nine months, others wait until they are nearly two. So, Herman, where does it actually start? Is it really just about imitating what they hear?
That is the big debate, right? You have the behaviorist view, which says it is all about imitation and reinforcement, and then you have the nativist view, championed by people like Noam Chomsky, who argued that humans have an innate language acquisition device. But before we even get to words, we have to look at the phonological development. Between six and ten months, babies move from simple cooing into what we call canonical babbling. This is when they start repeating syllables like ba-ba or da-da.
Right, and I remember you telling me that at that stage, they are actually universal listeners. They can distinguish between phonemes, or individual speech sounds, in every language on earth. But then something happens around ten months, right?
Exactly. It is a process called perceptual narrowing. The brain starts to specialize. It realizes that it does not need to distinguish between certain sounds that are not used in its environment. So, if a baby is growing up in a Hebrew-speaking household here in Jerusalem, their brain starts to prune away the ability to easily distinguish between sounds that only exist in, say, Mandarin or English. They are becoming specialists in their own native tongue before they even say their first word.
That is such a fascinating trade-off. You lose universality to gain efficiency. But what is actually happening mechanically? Is it just the brain, or is it the physical structure of the mouth and throat changing too?
It is both. Human infants are born with a vocal tract that is actually more similar to a non-human primate than an adult human. Their larynx is high up in the throat, which allows them to breathe and swallow at the same time, which is great for nursing but terrible for making complex speech sounds. As the child grows, the larynx descends. This creates a larger pharyngeal cavity, which is what allows us to produce a wide variety of vowel sounds, specifically the A, I, and U sounds that form the corners of the vowel triangle. So, when Ezra is squawking, he is literally practicing with a changing instrument.
So he is basically a musician with an instrument that is being rebuilt while he plays it. That explains some of the variability. But Daniel’s prompt specifically asked about the transition to words. When does a sound stop being a babble and start being a word? Is there a technical definition for that first word?
There is. Linguists usually look for three things. First, the child has to use the sound consistently to refer to a specific object or person. Second, the sound has to bear some resemblance to the adult version of the word. And third, they have to use it in a communicative way, not just as a random vocalization. We often call these early attempts protowords. For example, if a child says moo every time they see a cow, even if the word is not cow, that is a protoword. They are mapping a specific sound to a specific concept.
That mapping process is what blows my mind. It is called fast mapping, right? The idea that a child can hear a word once or twice and suddenly it is in their lexicon. How do they do that so quickly without a dictionary or a formal lesson?
It is one of the most incredible feats of the human brain. Research suggests that during the peak of the vocabulary spurt, which usually happens between eighteen and twenty-four months, children can learn new words at a staggering rate. Some studies suggest they add about one new word every two waking hours. The reason they can do this is because they are not just learning labels; they are learning categories. They use social cues, like joint attention. If Daniel points at a ball and says ball, Ezra is not just hearing a sound; he is tracking Daniel’s eyes and his finger. He is realizing that the sound refers to the object of their shared focus.
I imagine that joint attention is a huge factor in the variability Daniel mentioned. If a child is in an environment where there is less of that shared focus, or if the adults around them are not narrating the world as much, does that slow things down? Or is the internal drive to speak so strong that it happens regardless?
Environment definitely plays a role, but it is not the only factor. This is where we get into the variability. You have what we call expressive language, which is what the child says, and receptive language, which is what they understand. Almost always, receptive language is far ahead of expressive language. A child might understand hundreds of words and complex instructions months before they can say a single clear sentence. One reason for the delay in speaking can simply be the complexity of the motor planning required to coordinate the tongue, lips, and breath.
That makes sense. It is like knowing exactly how a piano piece should sound but not having the finger dexterity to play it yet. But what about the social factors? I have heard that birth order can affect this. People always say the younger siblings talk later because the older ones talk for them. Is there actual data on that?
There is, and it is actually a bit more nuanced than that. Some studies show that first-born children often have a larger vocabulary early on because they get more one-on-one time with adults. But later-born children often develop better conversational skills or pragmatic language because they are constantly navigating a more complex social environment with siblings. They might start speaking a bit later, but they often catch up quickly because they are highly motivated to join the fray.
I can see that. In our house, Ezra has three adults and a lot of visitors constantly talking to him. He is probably getting a massive amount of input. But I want to talk about the transition from words to sentences. That seems like a massive jump. You go from saying juice to I want juice. How does the brain suddenly grasp syntax?
That usually happens around the eighteen to twenty-four month mark, often following what is called the vocabulary spurt. Once a child has about fifty words in their repertoire, they start combining them into two-word utterances. We call this telegraphic speech. Like a telegram, they strip out all the non-essential parts. They do not say The dog is running. They say Dog run.
It is pure information. No fluff.
Exactly. And what is brilliant about telegraphic speech is that it shows they already understand the basic rules of their language. In English, a child will say Eat cookie, not Cookie eat. They have already internalized the subject-verb-object order of their native tongue just by listening. They are not just mimicking; they are applying a grammatical rule they have deduced on their own.
This is where the nativist argument gets really strong. They are creating novel sentences they have never heard before. They are not just parrots. I think about how kids often make mistakes that actually prove they understand the rules. Like when a child says I goed to the park instead of I went.
That is a classic example. It is called overregularization. They have learned the rule that to make a past tense, you add an E-D sound. They are applying that rule logically to an irregular verb. As a linguist or a parent, you should actually be thrilled when a kid says I goed, because it proves their brain is actively processing grammar rather than just memorizing sounds. It is a sign of high-level cognitive work.
So, if a parent is listening to this and their child is twenty months old and only has ten words, but they are clearly understanding everything and using gestures, should they be worried? Or is that just the natural variability of the typical spectrum?
Generally, if the receptive language is strong and they are hitting other milestones like pointing and following commands, there is usually less cause for concern. About fifteen to twenty percent of children are what we call late talkers, and the vast majority catch up by age three or four without any intervention. However, variability can be influenced by many things. For instance, boys often start talking slightly later than girls on average. Bilingualism is another huge factor, especially here in Jerusalem where so many kids are hearing two or three languages at once.
Right, I was going to ask about that. Does growing up in a bilingual home cause a delay? I have heard that myth many times.
It is a total myth that it causes a long-term delay, but it can cause a temporary shift in how we measure their vocabulary. If you only count the words a bilingual child knows in one language, they might seem behind. But if you count their total conceptual vocabulary across both languages, they are usually right on track or even ahead. Their brain is doing double the work of phonological sorting, so it might take a few extra months for the expressive language to catch up, but the cognitive benefits later in life, like improved executive function, are massive.
That is an important distinction. It is about the total mental map, not just the output in one specific channel. You know, thinking about Daniel’s prompt and Ezra’s squawking, it makes me wonder about the role of play in this process. We see Daniel playing with Ezra, making faces, repeating his sounds back to him. Is that just cute, or is that essential for the language development?
It is absolutely essential. We call it serve and return interaction. When a baby makes a sound and the adult responds, it builds the neural pathways for communication. It teaches the child that their voice has power. It teaches them the back-and-forth rhythm of conversation long before they have the words to fill it. If you ignore a baby’s attempts to communicate, they eventually stop trying. Those early squawks are basically invitations to a conversation.
It is like they are testing the connection. Can you hear me? Are you there? And when we answer, we are confirming the protocol. I love that. But let’s get into some of the deeper mechanisms. What about the role of mirror neurons? I have read that they might be part of how children learn to map the sounds they hear to the movements of their own mouths.
Mirror neurons are a fascinating piece of the puzzle. They are neurons that fire both when an individual performs an action and when they observe that same action performed by someone else. When Ezra watches Daniel’s mouth move while he speaks, Ezra’s brain is, in a sense, practicing those same movements. This is why face-to-face interaction is so much more effective for language learning than, say, putting a child in front of a television. A screen does not provide the same social-contingent feedback or the same opportunity for the brain to mirror the physical act of speech.
That is a big point. In our digital age, there is a lot of talk about educational apps for toddlers. But if the research says that language is fundamentally a social, physical, and interactive process, then an app is really just a poor substitute for a human being.
Exactly. There was a famous study by Patricia Kuhl where they exposed American infants to Mandarin. One group had a live tutor who played with them while speaking Mandarin, and another group watched a video of the same tutor. The group with the live tutor learned to distinguish Mandarin phonemes perfectly, while the video group learned absolutely nothing. Without the social interaction, the brain does not seem to mark the information as important enough to keep.
That is a powerful finding. It really underscores that we are wired for connection. So, if we look at the timeline from six months to three years, what are the biggest milestones that indicate things are progressing well in that typical variability?
Well, at six to nine months, you want to hear that rhythmic, canonical babbling. By twelve months, you are looking for that first intentional word and the use of gestures like pointing or waving. By eighteen months, they should have a handful of words and be able to follow simple one-step directions. By two years, you are looking for the two-word combinations we talked about. And by age three, most children are becoming quite conversational, even if their grammar is still a bit wonky.
And what about the physical sounds? Some kids struggle with certain letters for a long time. I remember I could not say my R sounds correctly until I was almost seven. Is that normal?
Totally normal. Phonemes have their own developmental timeline. Sounds like M, P, and B are easy because you can see them on the lips. That is why mama and papa are so common as first words across almost all cultures. But sounds like R, L, and T-H are much harder. They require very precise positioning of the tongue inside the mouth where it cannot be seen. Most children do not fully master all the sounds of English, for example, until they are seven or eight years old.
That makes me feel better about my childhood speech patterns. But let’s talk about the variability in terms of personality. Do some kids just choose not to talk? We always hear stories about the quiet child who suddenly started speaking in full sentences at age three. Is that a real phenomenon, or just family legend?
It is actually a real phenomenon, often called the Einstein Syndrome, a term coined by Thomas Sowell. Some children who are highly analytical or very focused on motor skills like walking or building might seem to put language on the back burner. Their brain is essentially prioritizing other types of development. When they finally do start speaking, they often bypass the one-word stage and go straight to complex phrases because they have been absorbing the rules and vocabulary the whole time; they just were not practicing them out loud.
It is like they were waiting for the software to be fully patched before they hit the launch button. That is incredible. It really shows how non-linear development can be. It is not a steady upward slope for every child. It can be a series of plateaus and sudden jumps.
That is the perfect way to describe it. And that is why it is so important for parents not to compare their child too strictly to the kid next door. As long as the child is moving forward, communicating in some way, and engaging with their environment, the exact timing of those milestones can vary wildly.
So, thinking about practical takeaways for our listeners, especially those with little ones or those like us who just have them in the house. What is the best way to support this process? Is it just talking to them constantly?
Talking is great, but it is specifically what we call motherese or parentese that helps the most. You know that high-pitched, sing-song voice people naturally use with babies?
The one that sounds a bit ridiculous to other adults?
Exactly. It turns out it is actually a highly effective teaching tool. The higher pitch gets the baby’s attention, and the elongated vowels and exaggerated intonation make it easier for their developing brains to map the boundaries between words. It is like slow-motion for speech. So, do not feel silly using that voice; you are literally helping them decode the language.
I will have to tell Daniel that his baby-talk is scientifically validated. What about narrating the day? I have seen people doing that, where they just describe everything they are doing as they do it. I am putting on your socks, now we are going to the kitchen.
That is incredibly helpful. It provides a constant stream of labeled context. It helps the child connect the sounds they hear to the actions and objects in their world. Another big one is reading. Even before they can understand the story, the act of sitting together and looking at pictures while hearing the rhythm of language is a massive boost. It exposes them to words and sentence structures that we do not typically use in everyday conversation.
And I suppose it also builds that joint attention we were talking about earlier. You are both focused on the same book, the same image.
Precisely. And my final takeaway would be to follow the child’s lead. If they are interested in a dog, talk about the dog. Do not try to force them to learn the names of colors if they are currently obsessed with trucks. Language is a tool for them to interact with what they care about. If you tap into their natural curiosity, the language will follow much more easily.
That makes a lot of sense. It is about making language a rewarding experience, not a chore. I think back to the audio Daniel sent of Ezra. He was so engaged, so vocal. He is clearly excited to be part of the world. It is really moving when you think about it. This tiny human is working so hard to bridge the gap between his internal world and ours.
It is arguably the most complex thing any of us will ever learn to do, and we do it before we even know how to tie our shoes. It is a testament to the sheer power of the human brain and our fundamental drive to connect with one another.
Well, I think we have covered a lot of ground today. From the descent of the larynx to the mystery of the Einstein Syndrome. It is a reminder that even in a typical developmental path, there is so much wonder and so much individual variation.
Absolutely. And it makes me look at Ezra’s squawking in a whole new light. He is not just making noise; he is a scientist at work, testing his equipment and building a world.
I love that. Well, thank you all for joining us for this deep dive into the world of language acquisition. It has been a pleasure as always to explore these ideas with you, Herman.
Likewise, Corn. It is always fun to nerd out on the mechanics of what makes us human.
And a big thanks to our housemate Daniel for sending in that prompt and for the great audio of little Ezra. If you are enjoying My Weird Prompts, we would really appreciate it if you could leave us a review on your favorite podcast app or on Spotify. It really helps other people find the show and helps us keep these conversations going.
Yeah, we love hearing from you and knowing that these deep dives are helpful. You can find all our past episodes and a way to get in touch with us at our website, myweirdprompts.com. We are also available on Spotify and anywhere you get your podcasts.
We will be back next time with another deep dive into whatever weird and wonderful prompts come our way. Until then, keep asking questions and keep listening to the world around you.
Thanks for listening to My Weird Prompts. Goodbye from Jerusalem!
Goodbye everyone!
