What age range corresponds to the second of the three periods of language development?

• A. 0-6 months
• B. 6-18 months
• C. 3-4 years
• D. 18-30 months

Answer: (B)

Language development in the first years moves through stages where the middle stage is when babies start using real words and showing clear intentional communication. This period spans roughly six to eighteen months. During these months, infants go from mostly babbling and making sounds to saying their first words and understanding more words than they can say. They also begin to use gestures like pointing and to follow simple directions, showing that their receptive language is growing alongside expressive growth. This window sits after the earliest stage (birth to about six months, with mainly coos and cries) and before the later stage where two-word phrases and more complex sentences become common (around eighteen to thirty months).