This is a question debated by philosophers.

Everything experiences things, i.e. stuff happens to everything. The consciousness is KNOWING that something is happening to you. So again, you receive stimuli, you then analyze that stimuli, and then you do analysis of the analysis. That's it, there isn't anymore woo woo behind that.

Your point about language shows the real crucial question though. As Turing pointed out, if it can accomplish all the things that we use intelligence for, then we should assume it is intelligent. I can't view your consciousness either but I assume it exists because your outward demeanor is the same as one who had consciousness.