The first discernable sounds embedded in English-speaking youngster's gibberish are b, p, m, t, d, n, h, k, g. Although parents celebrate the arrival of the word they've been longing to hear — “Mama” or “Dada” — they usually first occur by accident, as random sounds tucked in the youngster's babbling. It may take several more months for toddlers to use the words consciously and attach meanings to them.
During the gibberish phase, some parents have been known to exclaim, “He's speaking a different language!” There is an element of truth to this. Babies are born with the capability to learn any language and emit sounds from every language in the world. As they imitate adults and receive praise for repeating certain sounds while other sounds are ignored, the variety of the sounds they make diminishes. They gradually lose their ability to make the sounds needed to speak other languages. That is why learning to speak a foreign language like a native becomes harder after age six, and impossible for most after ages twelve to fifteen. Certainly the remarkable ability of young humans to go from completely nonverbal to fluent is the envy of any adult who has tried to learn a foreign language.
Don't be surprised if a bilingual baby is somewhat behind in speech development. Her brain has more to process! The “window of opportunity” for foreign language fluency is up to six years old. Studies suggest that it's best to expose babies to the second language before they begin speaking. Starting the day they are born is best of all.
