In the ongoing debate about the connection between language and thought, Evelina Fedorenko, a neuroscientist at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, argues that language and thought are distinct entities processed separately in the brain. She discovered this through studies of individuals with aphasia, severe language impairments, who perform well on nonverbal cognitive tasks. Using brain-imaging techniques, she found that the brain’s language regions remain inactive during cognitive activities. Fedorenko explains that language serves as a communication tool, facilitating the transmission of knowledge among individuals and across generations. Researchers are now exploring the interactions between language and thinking using artificial intelligence tools, like large language models.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/you-dont-need-words-to-think/