Which language development stage occurs when infants produce repeating syllables or sounds, showing early vocal communication?

The babbling stage is a crucial phase in language development that typically occurs between the ages of 4 to 6 months. During this stage, infants begin to produce repetitive consonant-vowel combinations, such as "ba-ba" or "da-da." This vocalization is significant as it indicates that the infant is experimenting with sound production and is beginning to engage in early forms of communication.

At this stage, babies are not yet using words or creating meaningful sentences, but they are laying the foundation for future language skills by practicing the sounds that will eventually form words. Babbling helps infants learn the rhythm and melody of their language, and it typically becomes more varied and complex as they approach the first year of life.

The other stages mentioned involve more advanced language phenomena. For instance, the one-word stage occurs when infants typically use single words to convey entire ideas, while the two-word stage involves the combination of two words to form simple sentences. The holophrastic stage, often considered a part of the one-word stage, refers specifically to the use of single words to express a complete thought. Hence, the babbling stage is distinct from these other stages in that it centers on the development of sound production rather than the use of words or sentences