Page 75 - The Modul of Psycholinguistics Studies_2

Proponents:
a. The language system, with its rule or vocabulary, is

necessary for thought.
b. Thought was derived from speech production.

c. Thought is supposed to be language-specific and not
universal.
Inadequacies of the theory:

a. Deaf persons without language can think.
e.g Deaf children, when at play and when participating in
activities around the home, behave as intelligently and

rationally with respect to the environment as do hearing
children.

If one holds that language is the basis for thought, then
these deaf children do not think and that they were
merely robots.

b. Multilinguals are whole persons.
According to this theory, if multilingual have more than

one thought process (one for each language), such persons
would not be able to think coherently or would have
separate thought intelligences/ personalities. Persons

knowing 3 Languages would have formed 3 systems of
thought, for example.

This is not true because it is proved through a case that a
multilingual and a monolingual child living in a same
environment have no difference in terms of beliefs,

values, personality and their perceptions of the world and
nature.

c. Intelligent animal behavior occurs without language.

Psycholinguistics | 75