Whatever it is that the child actually intends to communicate through such expressions,the significant functional consequences are that the adult behaves as if communication is taking place.That is,the child not only produces speech,but also receives feedback confirming that the utterance worked as a contribution to the interaction. Moreover,by the age of two , whether the child is producing 200 or 300 distinct "words,"he or she will be capable of understanding five times as many,and will typically be treated as an entertaining conversational partner by the principal caregiver