Do Bilingual Babies Talk Later? What Parents Need to Know

Do bilingual babies talk later? Will hearing two languages confuse them? Should parents stick to one language until their child is older?

These are common questions—and the good news is that babies are remarkably capable of learning more than one language.

If you are fortunate enough to have adults who speak two or more languages caring for your baby, celebrate it! There is no better time to learn language than in the very early years.

Will Two Languages Confuse My Baby?

Parents who speak multiple languages at home often ask, “Won’t my baby get confused hearing two or more different languages?”

The short answer is no. Babies are remarkably good at learning more than one language.

Young children may sometimes mix languages in the same sentence:

This doesn’t mean they’re confused. As they grow, children become increasingly skilled at knowing their audience. They learn which adults speak which languages and adapt accordingly—which I think is pretty amazing!

How Do Babies Learn Two Languages?

Babies learn languages through real interactions with the people who love and care for them.

Talk about what you’re doing. Sing songs. Share stories and rhymes. Play together. Use the languages that come most naturally to you, and give your child lots of opportunities to hear and use them without being told they’re “doing it wrong.”

You don’t need special lessons or flash cards. You don’t need to turn everyday life into a language class. Babies learn through warm, meaningful interactions with the people around them.

If Grandma speaks French, let Grandma speak French. If Dad naturally speaks Spanish, let Dad speak Spanish. If two or three languages are part of your family’s everyday life, your baby has a wonderful opportunity to learn them.

Do Bilingual Babies Talk Later?

Bilingualism does not cause a speech or language disorder.

A bilingual child may know fewer words in each individual language than a child who hears only one language, especially when they’re very young. But that’s not the whole picture. When you look at what a child can communicate across both languages, you get a much better understanding of their overall language development.

For example, a toddler might know the word dog in English but use chien for another familiar animal. Looking only at the child’s English vocabulary wouldn’t give you the full picture of what that child knows.

Over my 40 years working as a speech-language pathologist, I never saw a case where a child’s speech or language disorder was caused by learning a second language.

Children growing up in bilingual homes can certainly have speech, language, hearing, or social communication difficulties—just as any child can. But learning more than one language is not the cause of those difficulties.

What If My Bilingual Child Has a Language Delay?

If a child is having difficulty learning language, those difficulties will generally be evident across the languages they know and use. It’s important to look at the child’s entire communication picture rather than judging their skills in only one language.

Parents should not be told to stop speaking a home language simply because their child has a language delay or disorder. Home languages are part of a child’s family life, relationships, culture, and identity.

A child who has language difficulties still needs rich, meaningful communication with the people closest to them—and parents and family members can usually provide that most naturally in the languages they know best.

What If a Child With Language Difficulties Is Introduced to a New Language Later?

There is one situation where I believe parents and educators need to look carefully at the individual child. If a five-year-old has had years of rich exposure to one language but still has significant difficulty understanding vocabulary, grammar, directions, and conversation in that language, I would think carefully before placing additional demands on that child by expecting them to learn new academic material through a second language they are only beginning to learn.

This is not the same as saying that a child with a language disorder shouldn’t be bilingual or shouldn’t continue using their home languages. Those languages are an important part of the child’s family life, relationships, and identity. My concern is specifically about the demands placed on an individual child who is already struggling significantly with one language and is then expected to learn both a new second language and new academic concepts through that language.

Over my 40 years as an SLP, I saw children who became frustrated and discouraged when the second language demands placed on them once they got to school were simply too great. This is an area where I believe parents, educators, and speech-language pathologists need to look at the whole child rather than following a one-size-fits-all rule.

What About Speech Sounds, Stuttering, or Social Communication?

The situation is different for a child who has difficulty producing speech sounds, who stutters, or who has social communication difficulties. These challenges are not caused by bilingualism, and having them is not, by itself, a reason to limit children’s language choices.

Speech sounds do vary from one language to another, so a child’s speech should always be considered in the context of the languages they hear and speak. For example, if you have a child who is learning both English and an Eastern European language, a child may substitute d or t for th in English.

• “this” becomes – “dis”
• “with” becomes – “wit”

It is not that the child is unable to say the th sound, but initially they may be saying the sounds that are more consistent with the Eastern European language.

One Thing You Can Do Today

If your family speaks more than one language, talk to your baby in the language that feels most natural to you.

Sing the songs you grew up with. Share family stories, silly rhymes, and everyday conversations. You don’t need special lessons—just give your baby the gift of hearing language from the people who know it best.

A Thought from Cheryl

Don’t worry if your toddler mixes two or more languages when they first begin talking. This is a normal part of bilingual language development—not a sign that your child is confused.

Before long, they may surprise you by knowing exactly which language to use with which person. I think that’s pretty amazing!

The Bottom Line

A second—or third—language is a wonderful gift you can give your child. If your family has the opportunity to raise your baby with more than one language, celebrate it.

Talk, sing, play, and share stories in the languages that are part of your child’s world. Babies are remarkably capable language learners, and there’s no better time to begin than in the early years.