It does not matter whether or not an IQ test uses a language or not, people speaking different languages think differently and visualize differently, and it goes beyond the words they use when communicating. It defines the very structure of conceptual reality they have.
Quote Originally Posted by RationalMystic View Post
I find this language constraint on cognition to be very interesting. While its a myth that the eskimo's language have more words for snow then english, it is true that its polysynthetic nature undoubtably influences their cognitive processes. I did a bit of digging around and found the following link documenting an unusual acuaty in visual memory that eskimo village children posses over caucasion urbanites:
Visual Memory in Village Eskimo and Urban Caucasian Children
Heres an excerpt:
You have to be very careful. If you are inclined to think that language determines your thought, you will take this correlation as evidence. But correlation does not imply causation, and it's highly possible that your conclusion is backwards; the thoughts might determine the language.

Indeed this is a much simpler explanation in the case of the Eskimo example: Eskimos spend a lot more of their time exposed to form and space in their daily lives, and so they are better at thinking about it. It seems a rather obvious corollary that a more intricate language will develop in contexts that you are better at thinking about and more exposed to.