Thought as Determinant of Language

Jean Piaget believed thought not only determines language but precedes it. Piaget argued that children form an internal representation of the world through thinking, and that when children see something and later copy it (imitation), thinking takes place without involving language at all — a child's observation of someone's behaviour and imitation of the same behaviour clearly involves thinking but not language. Language, on this view, is just one of the vehicles of thinking; as actions become internalised, language may affect a child's range of symbolic thinking, but it is not necessary for the origins of thought.

Piaget believed that although language can be taught to children, understanding words requires knowledge of the underlying concepts, that is, of thinking. Thought, in this view, is basic and necessary if language is to be understood. …