Let's talk about the building blocks of language. Have you ever wondered how your child learns language? They start by copying their parents. Inmitation occurs in early development and is crucial building block to language development. In fact, infants are able to imitate early facial expressions within the first few days of life. Baby start vocal interactions by four to five months. They cool, they cry and babble. By eight months babies will copy familiar gestures such as clapping and waving. By 18 months children begin to imitate simple actions such as banging with a toy hammer.