"I've been in situations more or less like that with people who didn't know any English,.."

Which is not the same as not having 'language'.... they had words, just not your words, and with gestures and pointing we can, if we choose and have some time, easily agree on some words in each other's language.
Not having words yet, and only grunts & gestures is exactly what Chongo's relatives deal with. Other primates don't even have the developed hyoid bone which facilitates speech. It's hard to even develop the idea of gods when the very concept of naming is rudimentary.

(and when *I* am attempting to communicate in this awkward medium, I use every trick I can think of in HTML and using symbols to try to give (see?☺) emphasis and 'feel' to my posts. I want it to sound like I am speaking. Which means I really hate it when folks type with no caps and almost no punctuation. I like KNOWING whether they are teasing or dead serious.