Infants are born with the ability to discern all the sounds that make up human language around the globe — from trilled r's and guttural consonants to clicks and diphthongs. Moreover, they are more sensitive to the nuances of these sounds in the first ten months of life than they will ever be again. This is why babies can learn to speak the language or languages of their environment "like a native."

Researchers have documented that infants concentrate selectively on the sounds they hear. In a classic case of "use it or lose it," they lose their sensitivity to sounds they don't hear. Moreover, this is apparent by 9 or 10 months of age, before most babies say their first word.

Even in the first few weeks after birth, infants are good at speech perception in a number of ways. They can distinguish everyday speech from nonspeech sounds. They can differentiate between the speech of men and women. They even know the voices of their own mothers from other women. Specific mechanisms or structures in the brain likely make these distinctions possible. How and when these brain bases develop most likely depend on both experience and maturation, as do most developmental processes.

We also know that early language involves more than just hearing a language spoken. It is influenced by the context in which it is heard, and even by what we see. Doctors Patricia Kuhl and Andrew Meltzoff of the University of Washington demonstrated that infants as young as three to five months can lip-read. If they hear a sound that does not match the expected lip movement, they may actually "hear" it differently. This is another example of how the senses work together to help us understand the world.

Infants become adept at expressive communication long before they speak. For instance, they use movements and sounds to let you know what they want or don't want. Fussiness is one early staple of infant communication. So are happy gurgles and giggles. When your baby wants food, rest, to move away from someone or something, a clean diaper, or relief from general discomfort, these needs will be communicated. Pleasure, surprise, and appreciation for your good care will also show — increasingly in ways that are under voluntary control.

Signs and Gestures
Infants use body language, facial expressions, and reaching and touching to convey what they want to say. Increasingly, their gestures and signs occur with accompanying sounds. Soon the sounds will grow more differentiated, becoming wordlike, and then turn into words or phrases.

Yet not all sounds and gestures are meant to communicate something specific. They can be part and parcel of how your baby will explore and enjoy sensations — the fun of making sounds and hearing one's own sounds. Then, too, sometimes they just happen — an outburst combining reflex action and voluntary movement.

Pointing to things occurs very early in life, although it doesn't become intentional until around 8 or 9 months of age for most babies. Initially, such pointing is like many other forms of behavior that begin as more primitive dispositions to move certain ways or do certain things. Over the months, these behaviors evolve to become intentional, controlled, and useful.

Gestures are central to language. Since imitation is a big part of learning, young children are quick to pick up the moves for "wave bye-bye," "come here," "pat-a-cake," "clap hands," and "peekaboo." As with words, your baby's repertoire of gestures will grow as he learns. He also will try to imitate your adult mouth movements, particularly when you make certain sounds that come from different movements of your mouth and face.

Vocalization skills change rapidly during the first year. From the communicative power of fussing and cries, infants move to a wider range of sounds as their emotions become more differentiated. By two to three months of age, cooing emerges. Soon thereafter, full laughs appear. These sounds reflect an infant's growing capacity to feel and express enjoyment. They also appear to be precursors to infants' use of more varied speech sounds and speech "play." By five or six months, infants attempt, and sometimes succeed in, making sounds of the consonants in their language.

From Right from Birth: Building Your Child's Foundation for Life by Craig T. Ramey, Ph.D., and Sharon L. Ramey, Ph.D. Available wherever books are sold. Copyright © 1999 by Goddard Press, Inc.