At 9 months of age, which language milestone is expected?

• A. The infant babbles
• B. The infant says 'Mama'
• C. The infant smiles and coos
• D. The infant babbles single consonants

Answer: (B)

Language development around nine months centers on intentional vocalizations and the emergence of first words. At this stage, infants increasingly use sounds to communicate with caregivers and may begin to produce a recognizable word, with “Mama” being a common example that caregivers hear as a first meaningful word. This reflects a shift from purely repetitive babble toward purposeful use of a familiar word in social interaction. Before this, babies typically engage in smiling and cooing, and their babbling starts as repeated syllables before words, so the milestone of saying “Mama” best captures the shift toward expressive language at this age. The other options describe earlier or less specific vocalizations: smiling and cooing is earlier, while pure babbling or single-consonant babbling is part of the babbling stage that tends to precede the first true word.