Reflections On Language And Mind

This topic is like the chicken and egg question, which came first? Did we learn to think before we speak, or did language shape our thoughts? In this section, we will look at the various theories and the relationship of language and thought. Many people consider that upon introspection we seem to think in the language we speak. It is a common misconception that what we think is what we really speak but thinking and expressing are closely related but have their own differences.
It is important that the differences between different forms of communication are discussed in relation to the neural paths of development. In addition, it is also important that we try to understand the basis behind how the mind is directly connected to language. We will study about “the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis or Theory of Linguistic Relativity”.
Famous researchers even say that infants are born with a language independent processing system. It is also observed that language can act as a cultural entity to identify an ethnic group.
The various studies conducted on the development of languages reveal that infants develop the sense of language only after the age of two. So how do they communicate before that? Is it a simple or more complicated form? Language is not a cognitive function but also the only source of conveying what one thinks and what one intends to say to another person.
Have you ever wondered how kids start understanding what the adults say to them? Let us analyze.