For example, classical Arabic may be a very difficult language to learn. Does this mean that it requires a higher level of intelligence?
I don't think that in general you need to be particularly intelligent to learn a foreign language. Arabic is comparatively thought to be a difficult language because it has a complex morphology. In particular, Arabic has overt case (nominative with "u", objective with "a", and genitive with "i"), which impacts language phonology, and a complex system of person coupled with gender. Although all Arabs learn classical Arabic with the formal setting of schools and universities, they do not seem to find it difficult to learn, or for the matter, are endowed with a higher degree of intelligence. Evidence: Many non-Arabs worldwide master Arabic wonderfully because they find the need and the will to do it.
I hope this will help.
I do not think that language has anything to do with intelligence, except that intelligence can be used by the person in selecting the appropriate phrases when translating to convey the correct information to readers.
Dear Tham,
Directly we cant say there is a relation between language and intelligence. Comparing of top 10 countries in the world with the most intelligent people and their languages will give some idea about the relationship. I went through some countries in the list and noticed most of them have their own languages which are not similar each other. Therefore, language may be a one factor among others such as genetics, education, physical and mental strength, etc.
I do not think any relationship between the difficulty of a language and intelligence
Yohan Mahagamage Could you share the source of your information? I did not know that there is a list of the top countries with intelligent people. Very interesting.
Perhaps “intelligence” is the wrong word here. Would it be more appropriate to say “ability” or “aptitude”? In my limited experience, some people can learn foreign languages much better than me. Clearly, they are superior to me in learning languages.
Yohan Mahagamage From a conceptual point of view, I am not sure we should think of this issue at the country level. I think it is more appropriate to think at the individual level. Clearly there is variation in the "talent" to learn different languages.
Dear Tham,
Thank you for considering my conception. However, the information I found not scientific and its newsletter. Hope it will use full for your work...
https://www.forbes.com/sites/duncanmadden/2019/01/11/ranked-the-25-smartest-countries-in-the-world/#3a205671163f
My opinion is learning several languages based on their environment and talent. Since some countries like India they have several languages belongs to several ethnic communities. If some one gathered with several communities with their languages, he/she can easily learn different languages with the application.
If you mean that people who speak a more grammatically complex language end up being more intelligent than those who speak a simpler language, I’d say there’s no evidence in favour of that. It’s the same as believing technologically primitive people speak grammatically simple languages. Sometimes it is quite the opposite. The USA is one of the most advanced nations today, but English, their language, is quite simple. There are some indigenous languages spoken only in isolated tribes in Brazil that are more complex than English.
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