Is intelligence limited to thoughts it is able to associate words with? It appears to me that the thoughts in our heads, or at least mine, are a result of the language they know. I do not have any thought that is not a consequence of the information that is contained within the language I know. I have thoughts that occur as the words we use in language and are particular to my voice  The structure of that language forms constraints as to the depth of thought that my mind can possibly come up with as far as I can perceive.
Is intelligence limited to thoughts it is able to associate words with, since the mind's language is a result of a recursive association of words associated with those thoughts? Is there a limit of conception bound by a language, which is limited by its dictation? If so, there would also be a limit upon the perception of that so-called intelligence.
Consequently, given that artificial intelligence systems are created by humans, aren't they limited by our language and knowledge of it?
First thing we were taught in AI: 
Humans didn't create airplanes by studying and mimicing birds, they studied aerodynamics and physics.
Although difficult to articulate I've had very similar thought patterns to yours when I was thinking about AI and further I watched very closely the development of my child from being a newborn to where he is now, a year and a bit old.  The human brain is far more complex than what we'll understand, it would take a multi-discipline team effort to even scratch the surface.  So to create a human brain-like thought process and try to put it into a formal language box would be impossible.
I think the breakthrough in AI isn't going to be someone putting together multiple complex algorithms or even a fancy NN running on a supercomputer.  It's going to be something we haven't figured out yet.
Still, fun to think about...  I'd say it's more of a philosophical question than an AI one though...
Just my humble opinion.