Which statement best supports the language of thought view about inner language?

• A. You can always express what you want using spoken language
• B. The internal language is identical to natural language
• C. Difficulty expressing thoughts suggests an internal language distinct from spoken language
• D. Language is learned solely through social interaction

Answer: (C)

Thinking occurs in a mental language with its own symbols and rules, a structure separate from the words we speak. If inner thought were identical to spoken language, difficulties in expressing thoughts would simply reflect limits of expressing ourselves in that language, not reveal a distinct internal system. Yet people often have thoughts that don’t map neatly onto their spoken words, or feel unable to translate certain ideas into language, which supports the idea that an internal language underlies thinking and can be different from natural language. The other ideas—that inner language is the same as what we speak, that expression should always be easy, or that language is learned only through social interaction—conflict with the notion that inner representations can differ from external speech and that thought can outpace or transcend spoken forms.