Language is not essential for the cognitive processes that underlie thought

For those who can’t and don’t think in words this is unsurprising.

Can you count without using a "language"?

Try it now: Tap your hand on the desk randomly. Can you recall how many times you did it without "saying" a sequence in your head like "1, 2, 3" or "A, B, C" etc?

If yes, how far can you count? With a language it's effectively infinite. You could theoretically go up to "1 million 5 hundred 43 thousand, 2 hundred and 10" and effortlessly know what comes next.

Many animals can do some form of counting of small numbers where there's no connection to language possible.