Chris,

Hello. I unfortunately cannot offer any well-founded arguments. I have been studying language for only one year, and all the studying has been inside my own room. By reading some of Locke, many grammar books and books concerning language (the book 1984 adds to this a unique perspective of the delimiting of thought by the delimiting of language), and with much observation of speakers, I have concluded that language must be thought and thought must be language.
If that conclusion is naive, that is fine. Many years are left before my death; I have much time to learn and change my thoughts. As I search through the posts in this site, I notice the large amount of information that are still unknown to me. It is compelling. My one year has taken me to a great conclusion, though, I believe. Many kids my age do not think of language, and I believe that makes them less defined.
My arguments now are not very refined, too. Many books and writers disagree, and I do not know which side is more sensible. Just as now, I sometimes feel wrong for thinking that I am right. Others have more intricate theories, and present them better. Language still confuses me, but I am learning as quick as I can.