How do children learn to join words?

Making the leap from using single words to phrases is a huge developmental leap for a new talker.

This jump actually requires a lot of systematic learning for young children. That’s because talking is really a step-by-step process that infants and young children are always working on.

Where do children start?

Initially, children often start talking by labeling the things that they see around them. Because nouns refer to people, places, and things, many children learn nouns first.

This is a great starting point because these items are visible in a child’s environment. They are also personally meaningful because children have heard them referenced by others often. 

Labeling words in their environment often gives brand-new talkers a lot of communication power to request an item (Cookie!) or to comment (Dog!) 

However, as powerful as single words are, as children grow, they quickly become ready to share more specific messages with those around them. 

When do two-word phrases typically emerge?

As most children get closer to 2 years of age (ASHA), they start to join two words together. By joining two words together, children can contextualize information and take out some guesswork for those that they are talking to.

For example, a two-year-old who has learned to string two words together can make things much more straightforward for those around him by saying, “Look, truck” to direct an adult’s attention to the nearby garbage truck or he can specify ownership by saying “My truck.” The child can even protest now. By saying “No truck,” he clearly shares that he doesn’t want the toy truck being offered by a sibling. Each of these phrases is much more effective at conveying his meaning than if he simply said “truck” in each instance.   

More words can mean fewer meltdowns

The addition of a second word to modify meaning provides an exponential upgrade in a child’s communicative power. He can now use words for so many purposes (commenting, requesting, protesting, etc.) 

Because his meaning is more contextualized, he also decreases the likelihood that he will be frustrated by not having his message understood. A decrease in frustration means fewer meltdowns. (if you have a toddler, you already know that anything that decreases frustration and meltdowns doesn’t just help the child. It positively impacts everyone in the toddler’s household.)

How do children learn to add that second word? 

Even though the addition of a second word is powerful, it is also not a process that can be rushed. That’s because several prerequisite skills must be in place to support a child’s ability to add a second word. First, a child must have a fairly robust single word vocabulary. For many children, 50 single words can be a good foundation. Once that basic inventory is established, children are ready to take on the task of putting words together. 

Foundational skills first

Children also must understand what those single words mean and the context in which they are used. Comprehension is critical to a child’s ability to join words effectively. 

When a child puts two words together, he must understand how those words symbolize ideas that are linked. For example, saying a phrase like “Open box” requires that a child first understand what the action of “Open”-ing refers to and that “box” is a separate entity in which a top can be removed.

In this example, these skills for joining ideas are overlaid on a child’s earlier skills for gaining an adult’s attention and his knowledge that asking for help from an adult is the fastest way to access the contents of the box. (Diving even deeper, these skills all must be based on a child’s knowledge that a box contains something worth discovering.)

Therefore, a child isn’t ready to use 2-word phrases unless he is ready to join ideas cognitively first. He needs to demonstrate understanding of a variety of nouns, actions and other content words. 

That means that a child should have lots of different types of words in his expressive vocabulary. An inventory of only nouns doesn’t give him the linguistic tools to succinctly change the meaning of the noun used. He needs to have a variety of nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, etc. for that. 

The absence of this grammatical variety can become increasingly frustrating for a new talker. For example, without being able to join the word “no” to “cup,” a child is only left with repetition of the noun “cup.” In this instance, his well-meaning teacher is likely to continue to offer him the cup that he is trying to decline. His frustration at not having the language to protest in a way the teacher understands is likely to emerge in a physical way, such as throwing the cup.  

How you can help expand vocabulary

To help your child build a sufficient single-word vocabulary to reach phrases, make sure that you are modeling a variety of words during interactions with your child and demonstrating each in a real-life context.     

Need more support with 2-word phrases? We can help. Call Expanse at 919.216.6231 or email Heather@expansespeech.com to set up a free consultation with a speech pathologist to learn more about how you can help your child acquire new speech and language skills.