Curious Kids: a Question from Katie How Did Humans Think Before Language? – Katie, aged 11, Sydney, Australia (2019)
Most of us experience thoughts as a flow of words in our minds. But if you stop and observe, you’ll notice that your inner voice is often fragmented, more like a chaotic stream of ideas than structured speech.
So, how did early humans think before language existed?
Thinking Without Words
It’s easy to assume that we think in the language we speak—English, Spanish, Mandarin—but that’s not entirely true. Language helps us express thoughts, but thinking itself happens before words.
Take jokes, for example. Consider this one from comedian Tim Vine:
“I’ve decided to sell my hoover … well, it was just collecting dust.”
To understand the joke, you need to make quick mental connections:
- “Collecting dust” usually means something is unused.
- Vacuums (hoovers) are designed to collect dust.
- The joke plays on this contradiction.
Your brain processes this logic almost instantly—before you even put it into words.
The Power of Nonverbal Thinking
This applies to other situations too. When playing a fast-paced video game, your mind rapidly processes strategies and movements, even though you may only say “got you!” or “oh no!” aloud. If you were forced to describe every decision in words, you’d be too slow to win.
Studies also show that people with aphasia—a condition that impairs language abilities due to stroke or injury—can still solve problems, do math, and reason logically. This proves that deep thinking doesn’t always require language.
Want to test this? Try repeating a single word quickly—either out loud or in your head. This technique, called articulatory suppression, stops you from forming thoughts in words, yet you’ll still be able to reason, plan, and imagine just fine.
Why Language Made Us Smarter
While we don’t need language to think, it does make our thoughts clearer and allows us to communicate with others. This is where the real magic happens—language lets us share knowledge, build societies, and pass down complex ideas through generations.
Without language, we might still be thinking—but we wouldn’t be as advanced as we are today.
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