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A research that concentrated on the acquisition and development of language in babies has come up with the finding that the pointing is the first communicative gesture that infants learn.

The research carried out by the researchers at the Pompeu Fabra University of Barcelona analyzed the temporary co-ordination between gestures and speech in infants. They focused on early states of language development which involved from the babbling period until the production of their first words. 

"There are now more and more investigations that show that the study of language and human communication can not be carried out only with an analysis of speech," Núria Esteve Gibert, one of the authors, explained in the press release.

"Our analysis indicates that it is during the transition between the babbling period and first words (that is to say, before the infant is capable of producing two joined words, one after the other), that the gestural system and system of speech are already closely linked," said Esteve Gibert.

According to the researchers, the study demonstrated the vision that speech and body language are two elements that are necessary of developing an understanding of human communication. 

"These recordings were used to investigate when children started to combine gesture and speech in the same way as adults and if when they combine the two modes, the patterns of temporary coordination between gesture and speech are appropriate," Gibert continued.

During the entire study period, more than 4,500 communicative acts were produced by the babies. 

"Special importance has been given to the analysis of the temporary coordination between speech and the act of pointing, because this gesture is crucial in the linguistic and cognitive development of language since it represents the first communicative gesture that babies are capable of understanding and producing," Gibert added in the press release.

The results are published in the journal Speech Communication.