What is linguistic intelligence?

It is the intelligence that involves all capabilities related to human language. Forming a set of essential skills for living together and enjoying cultural-social knowledge, such as understanding the functions of language, language learning, communication of ideas, sensitivity to oral and written language, etc. It also involves the different domains or levels of the word: morphological, syntactic and semantic.

Linguistic Intelligence can also be described as the ability to deal formally and creatively with words in different oral or written situations. It also relates to thinking and reflecting on ideas and knowledge, and often helps with dealing with difficult situations and convincing other people about something.

In our brain it is located in the left part, in Broca‘s area (planning and language production) and in Wernicke’s area (language comprehension).

Know the characteristics of this intelligence:

• facility to capture information;
• oral and written language ability to convince people;
• interest and ease in learning other languages;
• use of a wide vocabulary;
• interest in knowing the language as a whole, such as the etymology of words and their meanings;
• ability to notice spelling and grammatical errors;
• sensitivity in listening to other people with attention and great capture of ideas;
• ease in adapting the language in various formats;
• ability to memorize ideas and information in written and oral form;
• sensitivity with the meaning and manipulation of words;
• ease in transmitting and linking ideas;
• sensitivity to sounds and rhythms.

The person who has the linguistic ability presents skills such as:

• enjoy reading and writing;
• have good oral and written communication;
• like to communicate;
• be spontaneous.

Now that you already know what linguistic intelligence means, how it works, what its characteristics are, some skills of those who possess it, can you imagine some professionals who have this ability more surfaced? So let’s meet some!

• Storytellers;
• Actors;
• Poets;
• Sellers;
• Writers;
• Journalists;
• Politicians;
• Educators;
• Translators;
• Communicators;
• Advertisers;
• Lawyers.

Professions that require mastery of linguistic intelligence

Linguistic intelligence is present in many areas of the job market. Some examples of professionals that we can mention are: journalists, politicians, writers, poets, teachers, pedagogues, advertisers, translators, lawyers, psychologists, actors and salespeople.

Are you interested in working in any of these areas? They are very different and attractive options, aren’t they? Note that despite being different areas of activity, all these examples use linguistic resources and act in favor of relationships with the other.

Verbal linguistic intelligence skills

People who exhibit linguistic intelligence have some characteristics in common. Let’s check out some of these skills. 

Ease in oral and written learning

These are people who are easy to learn and process information that is in oral and written form, examples can be the teacher’s explanation, reading articles or podcasts .

Ease of learning new languages

One of the advantages of mastering this intelligence is having an interest and ease in learning new vocabulary, syntax and consequently the culture of the languages ​​you learn.

broad vocabulary

People with linguistic intelligence have a large vocabulary, given their interest in language. In addition to knowing a wide repertoire of words, they show interest in their etymology, seeking to understand the meanings. 

appreciation for reading

Verbal linguistic intelligence also drives a love of reading.

appreciation for writing

Linguistic intelligence favors the taste for writing, for grammatical issues, consequently for the perception and correction of spelling errors.

Ease with word games

Because they have a vast vocabulary, people who develop verbal linguistic intelligence have ease with word games, such as crosswords, word searches, crosswords and also rhymes.

What amazing skills, isn’t it? Do you own any of them? If you don’t identify yourself but want to develop linguistic intelligence, keep an eye on the tips we’ve listed that can help you stimulate this intelligence.

Tips on how to develop linguistic intelligence

Like all other intelligences, linguistic intelligence can be developed by anyone, just use the right stimuli. Check out the tips to stimulate linguistic intelligence:

To read 

Whenever you can, read a book, magazine, comic book or article. Whatever it is. The important thing is to read. Start with titles that interest you.

Write whenever you can

In the same way that reading stimulates linguistic intelligence, writing has the same effect. You can do short summaries of the readings you do to develop the writing habit.

You can also write a diary if you feel comfortable, as the diary allows you to write freely, letting your experiences, achievements, feelings and emotions flow and this makes writing light.

learn new words

Learning new words greatly enriches your vocabulary. You can write down the words you find during your readings, look for the meaning and start using them in your speeches.

learn a new language

Acquiring a new language is very important, as in addition to stimulating linguistic intelligence, it also expands your curriculum, opening up new opportunities for action.

Of course, the ideal would be to study at a language school, taking a course with a certificate and everything. However, we know that if this is not your priority, it is difficult to spend time and money. 

But there are other ways to learn another language that can be through movies, music or documentaries. Not to mention that there are currently several apps to learn languages ​​available for free in the play store. Our suggestion is Duolingo , whose platform is easy to access, teaching is dynamic and actually promotes learning.

participate in debates

Whenever you have the opportunity to discuss something, don’t hesitate! Because there is nothing more important to stimulate linguistic intelligence than talking, exchanging ideas, expressing your opinion and listening to other points of view as well. 

You can talk about varied topics with people from all walks of life, as this enriches your repertoire on various subjects and even helps you adapt your speech to each context. 

word games

Games are very stimulating for human intelligence. Therefore, if you play games like word searches, crosswords and crosswords, you will be stimulating your linguistic intelligence.

have a diary

Write down your routine and your dreams in diaries, also telling experiences, experiences and reflections. It helps to acquire a higher vocabulary and consequently improve writing. 

Get out of the comfort zone

Explore other types of text such as narrative by writing stories and reports or argumentative texts, or opinion on various topics. Another idea is also to create a blog and post verses, poems, epics and reflective texts, for example. You can also create content for social networks such as memes and videos.

always try to learn

Learning a new word every day is an activity that helps develop linguistic intelligence. So, always pay attention to the words you read or hear during your day and look them up in a dictionary. 

chat and debate

Stimulating oral language is very important. Therefore, talking to people from different backgrounds on various subjects and also expressing and defending your point of view helps in development. 

study another language

Learning a new language also helps in developing linguistic intelligence. Going on a cultural exchange is an immersion practice in which it makes it easier for you to learn to speak and converse in another language.

Try to watch when you speak

Record yourself when you speak or listen to audios that you send on WhatsApp to your friends, as it can be useful to identify strengths and weaknesses linked to oratory and rhetoric skills that can be improved.