Language and Thought

Consider the following quotations:

“ Thus Bethel spoke, who always speaks his thought.” --Pope.

“ Thoughts come crowding in so fast upon me, that my only difficulty is to choose or to reject.” –Dryden

That which is thought; an idea; a mental conception, whether an opinion, judgment, fancy, purpose, or intention

Thought, in philosophical usage now somewhat current, denotes the capacity for, or the exercise of, the very highest intellectual functions, especially those usually comprehended under judgment

A few years ago, I had a discussion with one of my friends on thought and writing. The cause of the discussion came from our students’ problems of writing an essay. They reasoned that their limited English proficiency did not allow them to write well in English. We have come to the conclusion that: “ If a student does not know what to write, he or she cannot write well, be it in Thai or English, or any other languages.”

“ If you write something in Thai and it reveals excellent ideas. People will translate it into other languages.

So the focus should be on the students’ thoughts, not language per se.

Without thinking abilities:

People can write rubbish grammatically correct, and they can talk nonsense fluently ---- in any languages.

If the above conclusion is true, the student should develop his or her thought. The ability to write well is mainly subject to ability to think.

My friend put it that a man’s use of language, especially writing and his thought cannot be separated. He argued that focusing on thought is a better

To write is to express ideas or thoughts.

Is thought possible without language? Or can we think without language?

Language can influence how we think.

The way we think about the world seems to be influenced mainly by perception rather than language.

Is language a product of our intelligence?

Dr Kim Sterelny of ANU’s Research School of Social Science (RSSS) believes the human mind is more flexible than current texts suggest.

References

Delving into the Evolution of the Mind. ANU Reporter. Volume 32 No. 14, September 2001.

Horsey, Richard (2001). Teach Yourself 101 Key Ideas in Linguistics. London: Teach Yourself Books.

Gauker, Christopher. Language and Thought. Retrieved from http://www.uniroma3.it/kant/field/lat-t.htm Accessed 23 September 2001.

The Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy (2000). Edited by Mautner, Thomas.