Doesthinking take place without language? Discuss.

According to Benjamin Lee Whorf’s linguistic relativityhypothesis, the contents of thought are determined by language.Linguistic determinism suggests that the limits and possibilities ofthoughts are also determined by language and linguistic categories.

However, according to Jean Piaget, thought precedes and determineslanguage. An example is the imitation of adults by young childrenthat is a manifestation of thought without language. He opines thatlanguage is one of the vehicles of thinking and thought is necessaryto understand language.

A third view by Vyogotsky argues that thought is used withoutlanguage in non-verbal thinking and language is used without thoughtwhen expressing pleasantries. The overlapping of thought and languageleads to verbal thought and rational speech.

Therefore, different views have been presented by different scholars,whereby some believe that thinking can take place without languageand some believe that it cannot take place without language. However,it is important to note that thinking and language are interrelatedprocesses.