The Issue of Inner Speech Mechanisms in the Nikolay Zhinkin’s Psycholinguistic Legacy

Abstract

The article analyzes the works of a well-known national psycholinguist N. Zhynkin, which covers the development of inner speech of a human, its originality as a kind of speech activity and the issue of code conversion unit. The concept of inner speech and its mechanisms is a major issue in the development of speaking. The correlation between thought and language as a means to achieving speech activity was examined in details for the first time by N. Zhynkin. In his theory, he uses “code” as a basis, considering that the code can be called a system of symbolic notation. From this standpoint, language is viewed as a code and a system of material signals, in which language can be implemented (visible, tangible signals). According to N. Zhynkin, inner speech is a set of standard grammar rules and even the alphabet of vocabulary. Thus, the inner speech is a language which manages, regulates not only silent movements of the body, but also monitors any  communication.

References

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