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chimpanzees, dolphins, parrots, etc. But it is and vowel sounds (for example, da—, aa—, ba—). By about nine months of age these observed that, human language is more complex, creative, and spontaneous than the sounds get elaborated to strings of some sound system of communication other animals can combinations, such as ‘dadadadadada’ into learn. There is also a great deal of regularity repetitive patterns called echolalia. While the early babblings are random or accidental in with which children all over the world seem to be learning the language or languages to nature, the later babblings seem to be imitative which they are exposed. When you compare of adult voices. Children show some individual children, you find that they differ a understanding of a few words by the time they are six months old. Around the first birthday great deal in the rate of their language development as well as in how they go about (the exact age varies from child to child) most it. But when you take a general view of children enter the one-word-stage. Their first children’s acquisition of language all over the word usually contains one syllable – ma or da, forinstance.Graduallytheymovetooneormore world you find some predictable pattern in words which are combined to form whole which children proceed from almost no use of language to the point of becoming competent sentences or phrases. So they are called language users. Language develops through holophrases. When they are 18 to 20 months of age, children enter a two-word stage and some of the stages discussed below. begin to use two words together. The two-word Newborn babies and young infants make stage exemplifies telegraphic speech. Like a variety of sounds, which gradually get modified to resemble words. The first sound telegrams (got admission, send money) it containsmostlynounsandverbs. Closetotheir produced by babies is crying. Initial crying is third birthday, i.e. beyond two-and-a-half undifferentiated and similar across various years, children’s language development gets situations. Gradually, the pattern of crying focused on rules of the language they hear. varies in its pitch and intensity to signify How is language acquired? You must be different states such as hunger, pain, and wondering: “How do we learn to speak?” As sleepiness, etc. These differentiated crying with many other topics in psychology, the sounds gradually become more meaningful question of whether a behaviour develops as a cooing sounds (like ‘aaa’, ‘uuu’, etc.) usually result of inherited characteristics (nature) or to express happiness. from the effects of learning (nurture) has been At around six months of age children enter raised with regard to language. Most the babbling stage. Babbling involves psychologists accept that both nature and prolonged repetition of a variety of consonants nurtureareimportantinlanguage acquisition. Box 7.3 Bilingualism and Multilingualism Bilingualism refers to attaining proficiency inmotional level. It is possible for individuals to have communicating through any two languages. multiple mother tongues. The Indian social context is Learning of more than two languages is referredharacterised by grass root multilingualism which toasmultilingualism.Thetermmothertonguehas makes bi/multilingualism a characteristic at the levels been variously defined as one’s native language, individual as well as society. Most Indians use more the language spoken by the individual from thethanonelanguagetocommunicateinvariousdomains cradle; language ordinarily used at home; of their daily life activities. Thus, multilingualism is a language spoken by the mother; etc. However, way of life in India. Studies reveal that bilingualism/ generally the mother tongue is viewed as a multilingualism facilitates cognitive, linguistic, and language with which one identifies at the academic competence of children. 122 Psychology Reprint 2026-27