Contents

1. BABY-TALK = 1

2. FROM CRIES TO WORDS= 6

3. LEARNINg HOw TO UNDERSTAND = 14

4. MAKING VIBRATIONS = 21

5. PRONOUNCING SOUNDS = 28

6. DISCOVERINg GRAMMAR = 34

7. HAVING A CONVERSATION = 40

8. LEARNING TO READ AND WRITE = 45

9. GETTING TO GRIPS WITH SPELLING = 52

10. SPELLInG RULES AND VARIATIONS = 58

11. GRAMMAR RULES AND VARIATIONS = 65

12. ACCENTS AND DIALECTS = 71

13. BEINg BILINgUAL = 78

14. THE LANGUAGES OF THE WORL = 84