Is It Possible To Think Without Language?
Language is so deeply embedded in almost every aspect of our life that it’s hard to imagine what would happen if we did not have it. What if we didn’t have names? What if we couldn’t make statements, ask questions, or talk about things that had happened? Would we be able to think? What would our thoughts be like?
The answer to the question of whether thought is possible without language depends on what you mean by thought. Can you experience sensations, impressions, feelings without language? Yes, and very few would argue otherwise. But there is a difference between being able to experience, say pain, or light and formulating the concepts ‘pain’ and ‘light.’ Many would say true thought entails having the concepts.
Many artists and scientists, in describing their inner processes while they work, say that they do not use words to solve problems, but images. The autistic author Temple Grandin, in explaining how she thinks visually rather than linguistically, says that concepts for her are collections of images. Her concept of “dog,” for example, “is inextricably linked to every dog I’ve ever known. It’s as if I have a card catalog of dogs I have seen, complete with pictures, which continually grows as I add more examples to my video library.” Of course, Grandin has language and knows how to use it, so it is hard to say how much of her thinking has been influenced by it, but it is not unimaginable—and probably likely—that there are people who lack the ability to use language and think in the way she describes.
There is also evidence that deaf people cut off from language, spoken or sign, think in sophisticated ways before they have been exposed to language. When they later learn a language, they can describe the experience of having had thoughts like those of the 15-year-old boy who wrote in 1836, after being educated at a school for the deaf, that he remembered thinking in his pre-language days “that perhaps the moon would strike me and that perhaps my parents were strong and would fight the moon, and it would fail, and I mocked the moon.” Also, the spontaneous sign languages developed by deaf students without language models, in places like Nicaragua, display the kind of thinking that goes far beyond mere sensory impression or practical problem-solving.
However, while it appears that we can indeed think without language, it is also the case that certain kinds of thinking are made possible by language. Language gives us symbols we can use to fix ideas, reflect on them and hold them for observation. It allows for a level of abstract reasoning we wouldn’t have otherwise. The philosopher Peter Carruthers has argued that there is a type of inner, explicitly linguistic thinking that allows us to bring our thoughts into conscious awareness.
We may be able to think without language, but language lets us know that we are thinking.
If we did not speak any language then the troubles society would face or more precisely, the disadvantages human being would face are described as:
1) Professional Disadvantage
Not speaking a language might put you at a professional disadvantage. The business world is highly competitive, and many people actively look for ways to put themselves ahead in the job market. If you don’t speak any language then there’s a high chance that you may not get hired at all.
2) You’ll miss out on the true immersion experience
While your time abroad will expose you to many facets of different places and cultures, you won’t have a truly immersive experience if you don’t speak the language. You’re also more likely to connect with diverse students in non-native language classes – meaning more opportunities to broaden your social network, instead of only surrounding yourself with students who share your background.
3) Limited personal growth
We already covered how multilingualism can help you on the job market, but that’s far from the only growth opportunity. Students who embrace studying in a language that’s not their mother tongue also position themselves to grow in many different ways beyond the workforce. From building fulfilling relationships to eschewing preconceived notions, becoming fluent in a second language has transformative potential.
4) Social Detachment
If we are not speaking any language we feel isolated. We can’t share our thoughts with other people nor make them understand what we are feeling which drives us mad. In simple terms without language, we won’t understand what is happening to us. We feel like a bird trapped in a cage. Nobody talks to us, nobody cares for us.
So, while it’s entirely possible to think without knowing any language, but language gives us the power to transfer those thoughts to other people. It also changes our thought process and also has a profound effect on our interactions in professional and personal life.