Q.Does thinking take place without language? Discuss.

Yes — the chapter's discussion of thought and language concludes that thinking can occur without language, particularly when the vehicle for thought is non-verbal, such as visual imagery or movement. …

The chapter examines three views on the relationship between thought and language. Whorf's linguistic relativity hypothesis holds that language determines the content of thought, but the chapter notes that experimental evidence does not support its strong form (linguistic determinism) — people appear capable of similar quality of thought across languages, depending on which linguistic categories happen to be available, which already suggests thought is not wholly bound to language.

Piaget's position is the more direct answer to this question: he argued that thought precedes language and can occur without it — when a child observes another's behaviour and later imitates it, genuine thinking is involved even though no language is used. Vygotsky's position adds further support: thought and language are separate lines of development in a child until they merge around two years of age, and even after merging, the chapter notes explicitly that thought is used without language whenever the vehicle of thinking is non-verbal, such as visual or movement-based thought, just a …