Communication begins in infancy. Parents interact with their infants in such a way as to promote communication, and they do this naturally. The infants aren't intentionally communicating; they are responding to their environment reflexively. They cry when hungry, tired, or feeling discomfort. They become still and pay attention to new and interesting sights, sounds and sensations. Parents of infants speak to them with a slower rate of speech, stretching the words out. They vary their intonation, which makes their speech sound more interesting to their baby. They pause between utterances as if to allow their baby a turn in the "conversation". This is turntaking. Their baby is intrigued by this stimulation and will look at the parent, maintaining eye contact, which encourages the parent to continue. When baby looks away, parents interpret this as loss of interest in the interaction or assume that the baby is tired and let them have quiet time to sleep. If the baby looks to an object in the environment, the parent will talk about that object, label it, and perhaps bring it closer or offer it to the baby. Parents interpret their infant's behavior as meaningful and they respond appropriately. With frequent repetition of these interactions, the infant begins to learn that they can affect their environment. If they cry, they will be picked up, held and fed; if they look from parent to an object, they may get that object; if they look away from their parent they will be left to rest. The development of speech and language skills is a maturational process. Children are not formally "taught" these skills but they learn them over time.

  Language development can be further subdivided into the following categories (Please click the highlighted text)

Birth to 6 months	6 to 12 months	12 to18 months	18 to 24 months	2 to 2 1/2 years
		2 1/2 to 3 years