What is the language of thought?

Question

For example, babies must think but seeing as they haven't learned their home language yet, what language does it think in? Also, do English humans think in English or does it just seem that way? I'm really confused. Thanks for looking and an answer would be great. A star would be absolutely smashing.

Answer 1

how about pictures? the first books babies look at are just pictures...babies have no real concept of time, so they don't think about abstract things - ask a 3 year old what they did yesterday and you'll have to tell them, they know what they did, but they have no clue what yesterday is :D

after that your native language, for those abstract concepts that we can't picture so easily...

Answer 2

I agree with Sombra93

We don't think IN a language- our brains work and we respond to things, and language just helps us consolidate our feelings in our minds to help us understand what we are feeling.

We relate anything we know to our thinking-such as pictures and language.

i don't know if that makes sense or not... haha

never mind. good question!

Answer 3

Klingon xD

I agree with pictures. that makes a lot of since.

When we are babies our brains are just beginning to develop and learn. We only know pictures. That's why when a baby sees it's mother 9If she is a good mother) he will stop crying. Not because he thinks "oh there's my mom" because he recognizes her looks/smell/voice.

It makes since but I seriously doubt we are smart enough back then to actually think with words. Also you have to remember that we haven't always had language. HUmans thousands of years ago drew pictures to tell stories and to talk to each other. Also we used hand signals and colors. It wasn't for a couple hundred years before we actually though to have something as a language. So you have to remember language is a human invention. If a child were to be raised in the Wild and no one talks to it, it would never learn a language.  

Answer 4

Babies just use their 5 senses:

1. SEE the world around them

2. TASTE objects like toys

3. SMELL  stuff

4. HEAR their mother's voice

5 TOUCH everything

With this they are able to understand what is.

My deaf friend was able to read and write english which I though was amazing since she was never able to hear how the words or sentences are suppose to sound. They were more like symbols to what something is.

That is why I think the mind is fascinating because you are able to hear and see things in memory even though they are not there.

Answer 5

I suppose for a baby, the ultimate language is simply comprehension. Absorption of colors, sounds and shapes form familiarity. Once they have some familiarity with these things they can develop a frame of reference that allows feelings like comfort or fear.

Do you think in english?

It's obvious that everyone thinks differently to a certain point..

I know myself that i'll think of things in english that are relevant to the language.. like writing this to you now for example. Or thinking of something to say to my girlfriend because i forgot to pick up potatoes.

As an artist, i understand mental processess that require no 'language' in the mind whatsoever... but perhaps shapes, colors, sequences. Even sounds. Then there are things like photograpic memory for example. There's also things we do that are mentally involuntary. Stuff we don't need to know any english do understand, or do. I suppose the process of though is simply relevant to the action. (or no action)

interesting topic, i could go on for hours!!

i'll think about this alot more now... probably in english

thx

Answer 6

latin

Answer 7

All of us conceive the world, our environments, our surroundings, with our five physical senses. And though we believe we think in a language, this is not true. We do carry on a mental conversation, but this is only to reinforce, to convince, to harden our ideas in our conscious minds. The fact is that we think in "concepts" and then translate those concepts into words which represent them. This is why it is important to start learning a second language at an early age. As adults we have already labeled and named most of the concepts we need, a child is in the process of doing that. So it is much easier for the child to define, categorize, and assimilate this new concept in more than one language at the time of experiencing it.