Babies generally start talking by saying their first words between 9 and 12 months of age. Before actual words, they begin babbling around 4 to 6 months, producing sounds like "ba," "ma," and "da," which are practice for speech. By 12 months, many babies say words such as "mama" or "dada" and understand basic commands. Between 12 and 18 months, babies typically increase their vocabulary to 10-20 words and start combining two-word phrases like "more juice." By 24 months, toddlers often have around 50-100 words and begin forming simple sentences of two or three words, showing rapid language growth in this period. Early sounds like cooing start around 6 to 8 weeks, and expressive speech develops gradually with milestones at various stages. While babies develop language at their own pace, these ages are common reference points for speech development, and parents can encourage talking through talking to the baby and reading aloud starting early in infancy.