Telegraphic Speech
“Doggy go!”
“Mommy shirt?”
“Spill juice!”
“More grape?”
“Sister blow bubble!”
Does this sound like anyone you know? Maybe it sounds like your toddler. But chances are, you might be making these sentences too. Just when you finally feel like a real adult, the words “shirt stinky!!” come spilling out of your mouth. You might think, What is happening here? (Or maybe What happen?) Some people call it “baby talk.” Speech therapists call it “telegraphic speech.”
What is telegraphic speech?
Telegraphic speech is the short, non-grammatical sentences children make when they first learn to talk.
It also applies to some sentences adults make when they speak to children.
An easy way to check if something you said can be classified as telegraphic speech is to ask yourself, Would I say this to an adult? Telegraphic speech usually is missing all the fancy grammar words (like is, are, the, a) and grammar letters (like plural “s”, “-ed”, or “-ing”) that a complete sentence needs. The order of the words might be different in telegraphic speech too, such as saying the color of something second (“kitty white.”)
At what age does telegraphic speech begin?
Toddlers start putting words together anywhere from 18-24 months old. Toddlers’ first sentences are all “telegraphic speech.” They don’t yet have grammar words or grammar letters that they need to make complete sentences.
Telegraphic speech slowly fades away as the language develops, usually decreasing significantly by the age of 3.
Telegraphic speech is not only observed in English- toddlers learning to speak all languages have a period of short, agrammatical (not grammatically correct) sentences.
What is the role of telegraphic speech in development?
Telegraphic speech is a stage of language development that comes after a child uses single words but before they can construct complex sentences.
Telegraphic speech serves an important purpose for your child: it allows them to express more than one idea together.
A single word might only be a noun (“juice.”) But a second word connected to that noun gives your child the opportunity to say a lot of different ideas in a simple way (“more juice,” “juice go?,” “my juice.”)
Examples of telegraphic speech:
Telegraphic speech usually connects only 2-3 ideas or words together (such as a simple object, action, and/or descriptive word.) It doesn’t usually include nuances of language, such as quantity or verb tense endings on words.
Here are some examples of telegraphic speech that your child might say, followed by the complete version that they will say someday:
| Telegraphic Phrase | Complete Sentence |
|---|---|
| cup fall | The cup fell down. |
| pants on | Please help me put my pants on. |
| eat more grape? | Do you want to eat more grapes? |
| doggy bark | The doggy barks. |
Should I encourage my child to use telegraphic speech? And should adults use telegraphic speech too?
Your child will automatically use telegraphic speech as they learn to talk. They are trying to copy the adult language you are modeling, but they just don’t quite have the hang of it yet.
To progress past telegraphic speech and into complete sentences, toddlers need time, practice, and good language examples from their caregivers.
Research tells speech therapists that if a child only hears an adult use telegraphic speech, then they actually have a harder time learning to talk in sentences.
Why you ought to use short grammatical sentences:
Imagine you are trying to teach someone another skill, like bowling. You would likely show them how to do it properly (hold the ball in one hand, throw towards the pins.) A beginner will likely work toward that by holding in two hands and often accidentally putting the ball in the gutter. But having watched you do it the “real” way, they will keep adapting and improving until they get it.
Now imagine that instead, you only show them how to bowl with two hands and they never see you hit the pins. With this “adapted” model, they will have a much harder time becoming a good bowler.
Similarly, your child will listen to your grown-up way of speaking and try to copy it. Sure, they won’t start good at it. Sometimes you might even model telegraphic speech for them to copy. But overall, if you make grammatically correct sentences (even if the sentences are short), your child will start to understand all those “helping” words and eventually use them.
Look at the sentences in the chart above. If your child says the “telegraphic phrase,” you can consider saying the sentence back to them using the “complete sentence.” They won’t copy you, but you are helping them learn what the next stage will sound like.
How do I encourage telegraphic speech?
You might be feeling a little confused at this point. How can you encourage your child to use telegraphic speech while also avoiding telegraphic speech when you talk?
Great question!
Toddlers are really good at copying or repeating back the main idea of what you’ve said. When you talk in short, grammatical sentences you are actually encouraging telegraphic phrases. Toddlers able to pick out the key words and repeat just those words back. For example if you say, “Let’s go to the car.” your little one may repeat back “go car.”
And, as your child is learning it is OK to use telegraphic speech examples to get them over the hump by modeling 2 word phrases for them.
As a general rule of thumb, you want to be sure that you are using mostly grammatically correct sentences throughout the day; but you may model short telegraphic phrases during an activity when you are teaching your little one to put 2 words together.
What stage comes after telegraphic speech?
Children who use telegraphic speech don’t wake up one day talking in full sentences. Like all skills with your toddler, the change is gradual with slow changes over time. You will start to notice that your child sometimes says 3 word sentences, then 4, then 5. You will start to hear some grammatical letters, like that “s” that makes a word plural.
So over time More grape might become More grapes, then Have more grapes?, followed by I have more grapes?, and finally Can I have more grapes please?
There will be a stage where telegraphic speech is mixed with more complete language.
And at age 3, typically-developing children will have mostly stopped using telegraphic speech and instead start creating longer, more complex sentences.
Let’s Review What We’ve Learned About Telegraphic Speech:
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“Car go” “Papa tired,” “hand wash” are all examples of telegraphic speech.
They are short sentences with two ideas but are not connected by grammar words or grammar letters.
Telegraphic speech isn’t limited to two words either. Any “simplified” sentence can be classified as telegraphic speech (“Daddy wake up go work,” “Mommy fall down leg owie”)
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Children use telegraphic speech when they are first learning to put words together. It is a normal phase of language development.
Adults often use telegraphic speech when they talk with toddlers. Although telegraphic speech is sometimes a nice model for a toddler to copy, too much telegraphic speech and not enough adult models can make it harder for a child to learn to talk properly.
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Telegraphic speech is universal among toddlers around the world learning all languages, including sign languages! It is a normal and important stage of language development.
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You should encourage your child to put words together as they learn to talk.
Although they will naturally use telegraphic speech as they develop, you shouldn’t feel like you need to talk in telegraphic speech too. Instead, you can try to keep your sentences short, but grammatical (try “Daddy eats crackers!” instead of “Daddy eat cracker”)
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If your child is 3 years old and still communicates in only 2-3 word sentences - or if they are 3.5 years old and don’t make any full sentences with grammar letters (like plural “s” or “-ing”), you might want to talk to your pediatrician for a referral to a speech therapist.
You May Also Enjoy Exploring:
Our Baby Talk Do’s and Don’ts List (aka do's and don'ts of telegraphic speech)
Written By: Stephanie Burgener-Vader, MA CCC-SLP
References List:
© 2020-2023. Stephanie Keffer, MS CCC-SLP. All Rights Reserved.
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