How can I get my 1 year old to talk?

I've always treated my daughter like she's an immigrant learning English as a second language. Lots of pointing, lots of repeating, and basically when speaking to her, I use the least amount of words possible, while still being (mostly) grammatically correct.

We read books every day, I sing simple and complex songs to her, we play comprehension games to test her receptive language. Bottom line is she'll speak when she's confident enough to do so. It doesn't matter if your child knows how to say the word "ball" it matters more that she knows what a ball is and can go get it for you when you ask her to.

Your child will talk regularly when she is ready to talk, not when you are ready for her to speak. At this age, a child's receptive vocabulary will be much larger than her expressive vocabulary. Your job as a parent is to model normal language for her, not give her speech drills. This is the way children naturally learn language. Your trying to alter it or speed it up will only frustrate the process. She is exactly where she needs to be.

those 'basics' are words & can be encouraged by letting the child speak. avoid answering questions for her or responding to her requests if she isn't speaking. read to her daily, speak less, listen more often, and play all genres of music instead of using the TV for babysitting.