What makes someone a linguistic genius like William Shakespeare? How can we trace the development of language skills from babbling infants to eloquent adults?
According to Howard Gardner, linguistic intelligence involves grasping the meanings behind words and using language to express ideas, whether through speaking or writing. This intelligence follows a clear developmental line, starting with babbling in infancy and progressing to complex sentences by age five.
Keep reading to discover how linguistic intelligence shapes your communication skills and why it’s more complex than simply being “left-brained.”
Howard Gardner on Linguistic Intelligence
According to Howard Gardner, linguistic intelligence is a type of conceptual intelligence that enables you to understand the meanings behind words and to use language to convey your own ideas. Linguistic information is encoded in letters and words, which can be either spoken or written.
Skilled writers epitomize this type of intelligence, and particularly impressive writers such as William Shakespeare can be considered linguistic geniuses. Their work doesn’t just involve picking words with the correct meanings—they must also keep a consistent tone and style within each piece, ensure that metaphors both make sense and evoke the intended feelings, and (ideally) write in a way that holds the reader’s attention without becoming boring or repetitive. All of these are challenging problems that require a high level of linguistic skill to solve.
(Shortform note: Some critics say Gardner conflates linguistic intelligence with linguistic skills. Linguistic intelligence refers to the innate capacity to understand and work with language. It describes a natural sensitivity to the meaning, order, and sounds of words. In contrast, linguistic skills are practical, learned abilities that allow someone to use language effectively, such as a well-developed vocabulary and understanding of the rules of grammar. Phrased more simply, linguistic intelligence is the ability to learn linguistic skills. Gardner himself clarified the distinction between intelligence and skill in a 2006 article he co-wrote in response to a critique of his work.)
Linguistic intelligence also has a clear pattern of development through a person’s early childhood, which fulfills another of Gardner’s criteria. He explains that linguistic intelligence starts developing in infancy: Language skills begin with unintelligible babbling and generally progress to single words around age one, to simple phrases at age two or three, and then to complex sentences by four or five years old. Development slows significantly after age five and often depends largely on how caregivers or teachers encourage and guide the child’s language skills.
(Shortform note: Research shows that linguistic development does slow after childhood—this is why adolescents and adults have more trouble learning new languages. However, there are various strategies you can use to keep strengthening your linguistic intelligence throughout your life. These include reading books spanning different genres, practicing creative writing, learning new languages (apps such as Duolingo can help with this), participating in debates or public speaking events, and playing word games such as crossword puzzles.)
Finally, brain structure and function play crucial roles in linguistic intelligence. Gardner says that language processing is typically localized in the left hemisphere (half) of the brain. He also notes that injuries to that area can result in various types of language impairment, which fulfills another of his criteria for intelligence. For instance, some head injuries affecting the left side of the brain cause aphasia, which is the inability to recall certain words or to use them correctly while speaking.
| Is Linguistic Intelligence Found in the Left Side of the Brain? Gardner’s statement that linguistic intelligence is found mostly in the left side of the brain echoes the then-popular theory of people being either “left-brained” (skilled with linguistics and logic) or “right-brained” (creative and intuitive). This idea gained popularity in the 1960s, following Roger Sperry’s research about how the two hemispheres of the brain differ from one another. However, since then, neuroscience has debunked Sperry’s theory. Modern brain imaging shows that most tasks activate areas in both hemispheres, which then work together to complete that task. Therefore, neuroscientists have abandoned the idea that one side is dominant over the other, and now view the brain as one integrated system. That said, research supports Gardner’s claim about the left hemisphere’s linguistic prowess. Studies show that 97% of people process language in the left side of the brain; the other 3% are left-handed people who process language in the right hemisphere or both hemispheres. This explains why some people develop aphasia after suffering damage to the right hemisphere of the brain. |
