3 to 6 months—out of the mouths of babes comes BABBLING.
Research suggests to the contrary, noting that when the crying is taken out of context, the mothers are unable to decode it’s meaning. But then again, communication in context is what pragmatics is all about.
So that maybe there still may be something to be said for the communication effectiveness of Differentiated Crying. This may be an interesting area for further research.
Nonetheless, everyone does agree that the level of agitation of the baby’s message can be interpreted by the pattern of the crying.
Of course, all the points we have raised for responding promptly to the baby’s undifferentiated crying still hold for this stage of communication too.
Now about BABBLING...When professors do it, it is called “time for retirement,” but when the 3 month old baby babbles, it is a sign of human genetic inheritance, and a forerunner of oral communication.