>I am not trying to be snarky; I used to think that intelligence was intrinsically tied to or perhaps identical with language

I learned a long time ago that this wasn’t the case.

I can speak several languages, and many times when I remember something and want to search for it on Google or any other AI engine, I can’t recall which language I originally read it in.

So whatever mechanism the brain uses to store information, it’s certainly language‑agnostic. There are also many moments when you fully grasp a concept but forget the words to describe it, yet the concept itself remains clear in your mind.