The first words that infants raised in English-speaking settings use are generally

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The prompt concerns the typical first words produced by infants in English-speaking environments, so we examine each option in turn.
Option 1: 'commands for actions' — While early utterances can include imperative forms like 'go' or 'down' in some contexts, the most characteristic early words are not primarily commands for actions but more general labels. This choice overemphasizes a functional use and would be more typical of later development as vocabulary grows.
Option 2: 'labels for objects' — This is the classic pattern described in child language acquisition research: young children frequently begin by naming objects they encounter, often referred to as 'holophrase' stages where a single word labels a thing or category (e.g., 'ball', 'daddy'). This aligns with widely observed developmental trajectories in English-speaking infants and is the best-supported option.
Option 3: 'adjectives' — Adjectives appear later as descriptive vocabulary expands. In early stages, children are more likely to use concrete nouns (labels for objects) than adjectives, so this choice mischaracterizes the typical early lexicon.
Option 4: 'verbs for actions' — While action words do appear in early speech, the evidence shows that object labels precede many action verbs in the first year or two. Therefore this option is not the most accurate description of first words compared to labels for objects.
In summary, the reasoning points toward object labeling as the emergent pattern in early English lexical development, with other options representing less typical or temporally later vocabularies for most infants.

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The first words that infants raised in English-speaking settings use are generally

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