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In ‘The Star Beast’ (1954) Robert Heinlein mentions language several times:

“The brute isn’t as bright as a good bird dog, even if he can parrot human speech a little.”

“But he must have had [his own language]; it’s a truism . . . that speech centers are found only in nervous systems that use them.”

“Assuming that an E.T. is stupid because he can’t speak our language well is like assuming that an Italian is illiterate because he speaks broken English”

“Use of language almost on the instinctive level is perhaps the reason why they find other languages difficult.”