Language development

A child’s language development follows general patterns. This is for both monolingual children and bilingual or multilingual children. However, there are some differences between these patterns. In this series you can read more about this language development or acquisition of a child, both monolingual and multilingual. The topics are divided into different stages, each with three parts. One for monolingual development (MFLA), one for simultaneous multilingual development (BFLA) and one for sequential multilingual development (SLA).

Before you dive into the stages, I made an introductory page about the different stages I will mention and the most used defining terms. If at any later stage you don’t understand the abbreviations used, go check them out again!

Defining terminology

In this series I will talk about the language development or acquisition of a child, both monolingual and bilingual (or multilingual). Before I dive into the subject in my posts, here is a introductory post about the different stages and other termin

Preverbal stage (0-1 years)

In this post I will talk about the preverbal stage, that usually last from (before) birth until the 1-year mark. As the name suggests, this is the period of language development “before speech”. As for this stage there are almost no differences betwe

The one-word stage (1;0-1;6 years)

In this post I will talk about part 1 of the early linguistic stage. The early linguistic stage usually lasts from the 1-year mark until the age of 2;6 years. This first part is called the one-word stage or the holophrastic phase (just a fancy term f

The two-word and telegraphic stage (1;6-2;6 years)

In this post I will talk about part 2 of the early linguistic stage. The early linguistic stage usually lasts from the 1-year mark until the age of 2;6 years. Once the one-word stage is finished, the two-word stage begins (sounds logical doesn’t it?)

Stage of linguistic differentiation (2;6-5 years)

In this post I will talk about the stage of linguistic differentiation. This stage starts around the age of 2;6 years and lasts until the age of 5 years. In this stage the children’s social and cognitive skills improve massively, alongside the so cal

Stage of linguistic completion (5+ years)

In this post I will talk about the last stage of language development and acquisition. Logically it is called the stage of linguistic completion, in which the language development is completed. Technically, everybody always continues to develop and t