Below is an alphabetical list of descriptors that characterize some of the things children are able to do with language at different ages. In the below, match the descriptors with the age ranges. Note that there are 15 descriptors and 12 age ranges, so you will want to enter more than one descriptor for some age ranges.
• Begins to use grammatical morphemes and function words
• Combines words to make 'telegraphic' sentences
• Cries only because of discomfort or hunger
• Discriminates among similar language sounds (for example, pa and ba)
• Can use (say) about 50 different words
• Has a vocabulary of several thousand words
• Knows cake the eat' is silly, but doesn't know why
• Learns to use different voices' with different interlocutors
• Learns to use different language registers for different social/academic situations
• Makes cooing sounds
• Produces 'first word'
• Shows literacy-based metalinguistic awareness
• Starts to ask lots of why questions
• Takes into account what listener knows (for example, on the telephone)
• Understands some frequently heard words
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