Advantage Quote by Noam Chomsky
“Language would have evolved first as an internal object, a kind of "language of thought" (LOT), with externalisation (hence communication) an ancillary process. I can't review here the strong and growing evidence to support this conclusion, but I have elsewhere. There are ample reasons why having a LOT would confer selectional advantage: the person so endowed could plan, interpret, reflect, etc., in ways denied to others.”
About This Quote
The speaker proposes that internal language of thought predates external communication, offering cognitive advantages like planning and reflection.
In simple terms: Thought language came before spoken language.
Key Takeaway
Internal mental language underpins complex cognition.
Themes
cognitive science
language evolution
thought
communication
Mood
intellectual
curious
Type
theoretical claim
scientific hypothesis
When to use this quote
- learning new languages
- problem‑solving tasks
- creative writing
- AI language modeling
Key Concepts
mental representation
evolutionary advantage
Practical Applications
- Teach metacognitive strategies
- Design AI that models internal representations
Questions to Reflect On
- What evidence supports an internal language of thought?
- How might this view reshape language education?
A Different Perspective
Empirical evidence for a pre‑communication language of thought remains debated and hard to isolate.
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![“I wrote an article about the marine landing [in Haiti] right away, but barely mentioned the oil, because my article would come out two months later and I assumed by then, "of course, everybody knows." Nobody knew. There was a news report in the Wall Street Journal, in the petroleum journals, and…” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/dc5/noam-chomsky-42_articles_i-wrote-an-article-about-the-marine-land_13341.jpg)
![“Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then [these?], any man might instantly use what another had invented; so that the inventor had no special advantage from his own invention. The patent system changed this…” quote by Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/449/abraham-lincoln-88_adoption_next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in_1828.jpg)
