If a person was to grow up not learning a language, how would they think?

Question

Ok us, as English speaking people think in English, people in France think in French. If a person growing up, for whatever reason, did not learn a language, how would he think? You may argue that a person can not survive growing up alone, so in that case imagine he was raised by apes. etc.

Answer 1

language isn't necessary for a person to think..... look at Helen Keller... blind and deaf, she had no inkling of what language was...yet she survived childhood.....in all that time, she DID think.... what about?.. who knows... she prob doesn't even remember... but she didn't just sit in a corner for all those years.... read her story....  

Answer 2

They would probably think with visual images similar to most animals. They too change their patterns of behaviour from life experiences and adapt accordingly. Sight and sound would replace all forms of articulation. I imagine cognitive process would be something like a dream state or somewhat ethereal.

Answer 3

There are some cases of children being raised by animals, feral children, and they never really learn to think properly.  The lack of any language or language stimulation seems to r****d mental development.

There's an article about feral children here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_child...

Answer 4

They would think in pictures. if they were happy, theyd think sunshine, rainbows, ect. if they wre sad, they'd think in darkness, graveyards, ect.

Answer 5

Well, even if you can not speak a language, I think that you would still have to tend to your survival...They would think about finding food when they are hungry, water when they are thirsty, a safe place to sleep, survival skills mostly...Pretty basic things. and start making connections about your surroundings, like what things are safe to be around and what is not, etc.

Answer 6

Well, if a person doesn't know a language, you can assume that they are alone and feral and therefore have to only think in terms of survival. Maybe they don't think...they just know. For example, when your stomach growls, you don't have to immediately think "I'm hungry." You just know. There have been many "feral children", where they are raised by animals or survive in the wild. The only one of these to make complete mental rehabilitation was Marie Angelique Memmie Le Blanc, a French girl who survived 10 years in the forest and lived to be 63 and rich.

Answer 7

Language is extremely important in the development of children; it's how we learn everything we know and do.  Of course, one would feel hungry, thirsty, pain, and pleasure--basic survival.  However, he/she wouldn't have the ability to learn, speak, or develop normally into adulthood.

Answer 8

I don't think that that the ability to think is dependent on language although it does help. If it were the case it would be impossible for infants to learn their native tongue.  So that must mean that thought comes before language not the other way around.  Pretty much meaning that to be able understand language a person needs to be able to think first not the other way around. I would guess that means that thought would centre around needs, instincts etc.  

Answer 9

Think of humans before language. I've thought about this a lot for some reason. In the book nineteen eighty four language is reduced to few words, which cannot convey emotions or complex ideas, therefore limiting people's thoughts.

Anyways, i think that people would simply think using images, emotions etc. When you think subconsciously, do you really think of the words or does it just 'happen'?

Answer 10

That's like asking what blind people dream of. Haha.

He will probably think via imagery instead of words. His thoughts will probably be somewhat primitive compared to ours because of that. I suppose you could compare how he thinks to that of animals who rely on visual signs as languages. Haha, I'm assuming of course that the noises animals make isn't some sort of language.

What if that person didn't learn any language and was both blind and deaf as well? Now that would be an even crazier question. Hahaha.

Answer 11

Interesting question.... but what about people who are born deaf? How do they think? They learn sign language to communicate, but how do they think?

There are other variations too. What about children born with autism? They cannot "think" in the same way we do. They may understand a language and are able to communicate in a limited way, but it does not have any bearing on their ability and/or inability to think.

Personally, I feel that the use of "language" (form or manner of verbal expression) and the ability to "think" (the action of using one's mind to produce thoughts) are not related in the way you've presented the question.