Most children say their first words between the ages of 10 and 14 months. By the age of a year, your baby will most likely be uttering one to three words. They will be basic, incomplete words, but you will understand what they imply. By 18 months, you can be sure that your child knows his or her own name as well as several other familiar things. Children begin learning language at birth. The sound babies make when they breathe out creates music that signals to others that there is food for them to eat. This signal lets people know it's time to care for them and gives them a chance to get closer to learn more about them. As young children grow up with parents who speak to them, they too become speakers. They listen to what their parents say and use that information to create their own vocabulary. By the time children reach school age, they can speak hundreds of words. Young children learn new words by listening to what adults around them are saying. If someone they know has a new toy, for example, they may ask if they can have it to play with. Children also learn new words from watching how adults act in certain situations. If someone gets angry often, for example, he or she may be called names such as "hot-headed" or "irritable." Young children learn what words mean by observing these things about adults they trust.