The Limits of My Language

I often think about this.  It does seem plausible that people who speak and read different languages experience their lives in ways that may be materially different than I do my own. This seems to imply that our conversance with our language affects the way we think.

But I wonder if this is simply a frailty of the Western world.  Do those who achieved Zen Buddhist enlightenment mentally pronounce each word of their thoughts, like I do my own?  I doubt it.