Language and Thought

1-Is thinking the same thing as a silent monologue?
2-Can we put words on all of our thoughts?
3-Do people from different countries think differently?


How language and speech are connected in our thoughts has been discussed and throughout history. The ancient Greeks philosophized over this question. Aristotle thought that speech symbolized thought, and that speech was used to tell others what was going on inside in our heads and how we experienced the world around us.

In the 19th century, there was an increased interest for other cultures and languages. For example, people wondered if Chinese speakers thought differently than Swedish speakers. The Philosopher Wilhelm von Humboldt (who worked in Germany) thought that language was tightly connected to thinking and therefore people who speak different languages would think differently.

There have also been researchers in the 20th century who believe in von Humboldt's theory, for example the American linguist Benjamin Lee Whorf who is the father to the so-called "Whorf-Hypothesis". It is based on the idea that thoughts are controlled or influenced by the language we speak.

In Swedish, there are many different names for colors (for example: blue, red, white, light gray, purple, and cyan), but in certain languages in the world (for example in the Tiv language of New Guinea) there are only two words for color: light and dark. If you think that thoughts are influenced by language, then you might think that a Swedish speaker would be better at distinguishing colors than a Tiv speaker. This was studied, and the results showed that speakers with less names for colors in their language where able to distinguish colors just as well as speakers who had many names for colors. This would suggest that we can think of things which we do not have words for.

In what other ways can we think? We can think in pictures or in feelings. Sometimes it is hard to explain how we are feeling Ð it is hard to put a word on a feeling. Sometimes, we even make up a new word to describe a feeling or thought. Deaf people probably "see" more images in their thoughts. Just as touch probably has a more important role in a blind person's thoughts.

But how does a little child, who has not learned how to speak, think? And how do animals think? Even if animals do not have the same brain capacity as humans, it is possible that animals "think" to a certain degree. But they hardly think in words, because humans are the only species, which have a fully developed language.

Even if we can all agree that we can think without words and language, it is evident that much thinking is done in the form of a silent monologue (at least with the majority). Sometimes we have long dialogues with ourselves in our head, and sometimes we even "think aloud". It can help to talk aloud to ourselves if we are trying to solve a complicated problem.

A deaf person often does not have spoken language as their mother tongue. Instead, they use sign language. Symbols have a more important role than words in thoughts of deaf people.

Another thing that shows that thoughts and language are closely connected is the course of a conversation. Speech is very quick compared to how long it takes to write. Sometimes we say the wrong thing or we have to correct ourselves and start over. When we speak, we often add small words like "eh..." We do this because we need some extra time to plan and think about what we are actually saying.