Work · Science & Human Sciences
Thinking and Speech
Thought and language have different roots but merge in childhood; inner speech arises from social speech, and concepts develop through instruction.
Introduction
“Thinking and Speech” appeared in Moscow in 1934, a few months after Vygotsky’s death; it combines earlier studies with new chapters, and he dictated the last chapter during his final illness. The book traces the separate roots of thought and speech in animals and children and their convergence in early childhood. Against Piaget it argues that egocentric speech is a step towards inner speech, a condensed, predicative speech for oneself. Experiments with artificial concepts show stages from unorganised heaps and complexes to true concepts, and a comparison of everyday and scientific concepts leads to the zone of proximal development. The abridged English translation “Thought and Language” (1962), accompanied by a reply from Piaget, made the book known internationally.
More works by Lev Vygotsky
Sources: Wikidata
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