Main points
According to linguistic determinism, there is no thought without language.
Linguistic relativity supports that thought can be influenced by language.
Language of thought theories (LOTH) opposes this idea of language influencing thought. They believe that language is something inessential to someone’s thoughts.
Language is used to transfer someone’s thoughts from their mind.
According to Edward Sapir, when a concept fails to be expressed in someone’s native language, they fail to understand it.
In his study, Piaget claimed that thought formation depends on sensory-motor scheme coordination but not the language.
Explanations
Linguistic determinism is the strong version of the hypothesis, arguing that thought can be influenced by language. According to it, without any language, there can be no thought. On the other hand, linguistic relativity is a weak version of the hypothesis which supports this idea. According to this weak version, thoughts can be influenced by language. Language of thought theories (LOTH) opposes this idea of language influencing thought. They believe that language is something inessential to someone’s thoughts.
One of the major use of language is mainly to transfer someone’s thoughts from their mind to others. Linguistic information bits that enter one’s mind from others cause them to entertain new ideas with profound effects on their world knowledge. The thought is believed to come first, and language is an expression of the thought. According to Edward Sapir, when a concept fails to be expressed in someone’s native language, they fail to understand it. Piaget is another scholar who, in his study, claimed that thought formation depends on sensory-motor scheme coordination but not the language.