Which of the following names is associated with the first stage of first-language acquisition?

The first stage of first-language acquisition is commonly referred to as the babbling stage. During this developmental phase, infants produce a variety of sounds that are not yet recognizable as words. This stage typically occurs around 4 to 6 months of age and involves repeating consonant-vowel combinations such as "ba," "da," and "ma." Babbling serves as a critical precursor to later stages of language development, as it allows children to practice their vocalization skills, experiment with sound production, and begin to develop the rhythmic and melodic patterns of their native language.

While the other stages listed, such as the one-word stage (or holophrastic stage) and the two-word stage, follow the babbling stage as children start to use single words and then combine them, respectively, they do not represent the very first stage of language acquisition. Understanding this progression is fundamental to grasping how language develops in young children.