The object of this study is to give an ordered account of the early stages in the development of language in children, based upon published records and the authors own research and observations. In attempts to clarify the manner in which speech begins in children by asking such questions as “how are those characteristics of speech which we usually see flowering during a childs second year of life related his early experience in behaviour. In trying to provide answers to questions such as this, the book Propounds the theory that a coherent account of a child's linguistic growth may be derived from a study of his general behaviour as well as his behaviour as a speaker and a listener.