Thesis of the lecture “Inner speech”
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There are two ways that a person can talk to themselves: out
loud and in silence. In the context of inner speech, psychologists
use the terms egocentric and/or private speech to refer to the
speech heard when a person is talking to themselves. This can
be distinguished from normal speech because egocentric speech
is usually only meant to be heard by the speaker as a set of
instructions or a way to keep focus. Talking in silence, on the
other hand, is not so easy to define. Since inner speech is such
an abstract process, many people disagree on what can be
classified as inner speech.
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1) Inner speech is the articulation of words without sound. In a
study on articulation of silent speech Oppenheim and Dell
(2010) wrote, “...we have demonstrated that articulation changes
inner speech, and this demonstration implies that inner speech
cannot be independent of the movements that a person would
use to express it” (p. 1158). This is not entirely false. You can
have silent articulation of words, but as a result of inner speech,
it should not be considered inner speech itself. This silent
articulation of words is what we perceive as that vivid voice we
“hear” in our heads. This vivid voice, or inner voice, is a form of
verbal imagery (Gauker, 1994). Verbal imagery is the way we
observe our own inner speech.
2) Inner speech is the same as thought. It is important to know
that thought and inner speech are not one in the same. Inner
speech is more like the carrier of thought (Solokov, 1995), just
as the silent articulation of words can sometimes be the carrier
of inner speech.
3) Inner speech is a shorthand version of real speech (as one
researcher put it, a word in inner speech is 'the mere skin of a
thought'), and it's very egocentric, not surprisingly, given that it's
a monologue, with the speaker and the audience being the same
person," Inner speech is maximally contracted, abbreviated, and
telegraphic. Syntactically, inner speech is almost entirely
predicative. With inner speech, the subject – indeed the whole
conversational situation – is known to the individual who is
thinking. Here, speech consists almost entirely of predicates. We
do not have to tell ourselves what this speech is about.
4)
Inner speech is a form of internalized, self-directed dialogue:
talking to oneself. This is consistent with the nature and
structure of inner speech. That is always implied, forming the
background of consciousness. This explains the predicative
nature of inner speech. Even if inner speech were made audible
to the outsider, only the speaker would understand it. No one
else would know the mental field in which it flows. Inner speech
is, therefore, completely idiomatic.
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"Vygotsky identified a number of lexicogrammatical features
which are foregrounded in both egocentric speech and inner
speech. These features include omission of the subject, the
foregrounding of predication, and a highly elliptical relationship
between these forms and the speech situation (Vygotsky 1986
[1934]: 236),"
"In inner speech the only grammatical rule at play is association
through juxtaposition. Like inner speech, film uses a concrete
language in which sense comes not from deduction but from the
fullness of the individual attractions as qualified by the image
which they help to develop,"
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Researchers first studied inner speech by observing private speech in
children. The reason this worked is because children aren't born with
inner speech but rather develop it as they grow older (Vygotsky). Jean
Piaget had a different theory of development (Figure 1). Instead of inner
speech developing with age, Piaget believed that inner speech was a
result of children losing their egocentricity as they become more aware
of others. As the child becomes less self-centered they learn to socialize
with others and then eventually learn to keep their thoughts in their
head.
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Vygotsky was Piaget’s biggest critic on his theory of inner speech. Lev
Vygotsky, a soviet developmental psychologist, believed that children
first learn to be social with others. Then, as they learn to internalize
thoughts, they develop private speech. With more internalization and a
development of higher cognitive abilities, the child is finally able to
have inner speech (Figure 2). The main difference is that Vygotsky did
not see egocentric speech as having disappeared. Egocentric speech was
merely placed as a backup mechanism for internalized thought and selfguidance.
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