What is telegraphic speech?

Telegraphic speech refers to a stage in language development where children primarily use content words, such as nouns and verbs, while omitting function words, like prepositions and conjunctions. This type of speech resembles telegrams, which used to be concise and stripped of unnecessary words due to cost concerns. As a result, telegraphic speech conveys essential meaning without the grammatical complexity found in fully developed speech.

For example, a child might say "want cookie" instead of "I want a cookie" or "mom go" instead of "Mom is going." This simplicity demonstrates the child's understanding of the key components of communication while still in the process of developing more complex language skills. The characteristic of omitting function words in this manner is what defines telegraphic speech.