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This lesson provides a detailed comparison of the two main theories about the relationship between language and thought: Piaget's theory (thought before language) and the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (language shapes thought).
Piaget argued that cognitive development drives language development, not the other way around. Children must first develop the underlying cognitive structures (schemas) before they can use language to express those concepts.
1. Pre-linguistic thought: Infants in the sensorimotor stage (0–2 years) demonstrate sophisticated thinking before they can speak:
2. Language follows cognitive development: Piaget observed that children's language becomes more sophisticated as their cognitive abilities develop. For example:
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