Basic forms of speech. Inner and outer speech

Human speech is not only external, but also internal. Under the internal conversation understand the communication of the individual with himself, which can occur both consciously and unconsciously. It is quite difficult to fully answer the question of what inner speech is, as well as to deal with its nature. Nevertheless, psychologists have managed to formulate the main aspects of this phenomenon.

Each individual communicates with himself. This happens, as a rule, at the level of thoughts. Therefore, if a person's lips do not move and do not make sounds, this does not mean that he does not formulate words and sentences. Inner speech is considered a peculiar form of thinking in which a person thinks, analyzes, argues with himself, and so on. It differs from the external only in the form of manifestation and functions. From this article you will learn the answer to the question: "Inner speech - what kind of speech is it?" In addition, you will get acquainted with its role in human life.

Definition

Inner speech is a complex mental functioning, which consists of operations, language components, communication interaction and consciousness. Communication takes place in the thoughts of a person who does not use his vocal apparatus to express words. Thoughts help the individual to think, realize, reason, weigh and make decisions.

mental speech

Inner speech can be called mental speech, since it does not always need words. Sometimes for mental activity it is enough for a person to imagine images and pictures. At the same time, he may not notice how the process of thinking begins or ends. It passes on its own, automatically. Mental speech is a kind of connecting thread between a person and the surrounding world, from which he draws information. In addition, an internal conversation can act as a preparation for an external one, because a person first thinks, and then he speaks or acts.

Connection with thinking

It is difficult for psychologists to draw a line between inner speech and thinking, so these two concepts are quite often combined together. Nevertheless, most experts are inclined to believe that thinking and inner speech are components that cannot replace each other.

Origin

As for the origin of inner speech, the opinions of psychologists differ. Some suggest that it appears when a person withdraws into himself. At this moment, he begins to think, reflect, talk to himself and so on. Others believe that inner speech always accompanies outer speech. That is, in the process of communication, a person communicates in parallel with himself and the interlocutor. Before saying something out loud, he gathers evidence for his words or weighs the words of the enemy.

Study

One way or another, inner speech is a hidden part of our thinking, so it is quite difficult to study it. It is investigated with the help of self-observation and all kinds of instruments that perceive signals. The most accessible are the methods of introspection of the processes occurring inside the human consciousness.

internal and external

Let's see how speech is classified. So, there are such types of speech: oral, written and internal. The first two types are combined into such a concept as external speech. Now more about each of them.

A person uses external oral speech when he needs to reproduce aloud his own thoughts, that is, information formulated in his head. Such speech is carried out with the help of the vocal cords, tongue, lips and other organs. It is always directed to the outside world.

When a person uses inner speech, he always refers to himself. The voice box is not used. Through this communicative process, the individual communicates with himself, reasoning, analyzing and making decisions. Psychologists have found that a person begins to resort to inner speech on average from the age of seven. Prior to this, all the child's appeals are directed purely to the outside world. In addition, at the age of seven, he begins to understand that not every word is worth repeating out loud.

Inner speech is characterized by brevity, fragmentation, soundlessness, secondary (formed from external communication) and fragmentation. If a person could record it on a dictaphone, then the recording would turn out to be incoherent, fragmentary and simply incomprehensible. Such speech is pronounced very quickly and does not have a strict grammatical design.

In external speech, a person uses those structures and phrases that are understandable to his interlocutor. Eye contact, body language and a change of intonation come to the rescue. All this helps to make the message as accurate as possible.

Depending on the degree of involvement of a person, the internal conversation is different. If an individual really conducts a conversation with himself, then he uses that speech, which has an external character. When a conversation is conducted unconsciously, then it has a predicative or directive character. Such speech is usually short and non-targeted. Reasoning in this case does not occur - a person simply makes a decision and encourages himself to act.

Before saying something aloud, a person thinks and selects expressions, makes sentences and phrases. With internal speech, this does not happen - instead of clear sentences, short phrases or just words are used. The lack of words in a conversation with oneself can be compensated by the images presented.

Answering the question “What is inner speech?”, It is worth noting that it is not only a way of making decisions or comprehending past events, but also a preparation for external speech, which is divided into oral and written.

Usually, speaking of external speech, it is precisely its oral type that is implied. It includes pronunciation and listening to words. Oral speech can be everyday (colloquial) and public.

Written is called graphically designed external speech, built on the basis of alphabetic and other images. Although written, it has most of the characteristics of oral expression, in terms of structure and vocabulary. At the same time, written speech has stricter rules for conveying thoughts through words than oral speech. The complexity of correspondence, in comparison with a live conversation, lies in the fact that it cannot be embellished with gestures and facial expressions. Thus, internal speech and external (written or oral) are completely different concepts.

Vygotsky's view

Psychologists from all over the world have paid quite a lot of attention to the question “What is inner speech?” Considerable success in this direction was achieved by the Soviet scientist Lev Nikolaevich Vygodsky. In his opinion, a person’s inner speech is the result of “communication for oneself” or egocentric speech, which is formed in childhood, when the child begins to master external forms of speech. Preschool children use wording that is not always clear to an adult. serves as a foundation for the development of inner speech. Initially, only a child understands it, but over time, after a series of transformations, it acquires signs of an increasingly meaningful thought process.

The formation of external and internal speech in children is different. The formation of external speech occurs according to the principle "from simple to complex". Words form a phrase, and phrases form a sentence. With internal speech, the opposite is true: the whole sentence is parsed into phrases and words, the comprehension of which occurs separately.

Problem

It is rather difficult to study inner speech, because it only at first glance differs from outer speech only by the absence of sound accompaniment. In fact, a person's conversation with himself is not at all like a conversation with another person.

The inner speech of a person is always fragmentary and curtailed. A conversation with an interlocutor always has a more or less clear structure. Offers are built logically and clearly. Inner speech can be noted in actions. It does not necessarily indicate the subject in question. It is enough just to consider its properties, which have an incentive character.

The language of inner speech consists not only of words, but also of other forms that are understandable to a person: these are pictures, diagrams, images, details, and so on. A person does not need to verbalize everything that he imagines in his head. To start thinking, you just need to remember the picture you saw or just your impressions of it.

Peculiarity

The peculiarity of inner speech is that it is difficult to distinguish it, since in the process of thinking an individual can use all forms of representation of what he is thinking about that are known and understandable to him personally. In a conversation with yourself, there is no need for complex sentences, since you can understand yourself without words. It is much more convenient to imagine a certain image that most fully conveys the meaning of reflection than to find words to describe it.

Inner speech generates thoughts, and is not their consequence. Often it serves to generate thoughts and is a connecting element between thought and external speech used to convey one's ideas to other people.

Inner speech is born in childhood, so it is full of bizarre and fantastic images imagined by a child. As a person grows older, in a conversation with himself, he increasingly resorts to verbal forms of expression of thought and uses not invented pictures, but those seen in real life.

Inner voice

Considering the question of what inner speech is, it is worth emphasizing such a phenomenon as the inner voice. An inner voice is called a certain hidden power, which in a difficult situation helps a person make the right decision. Sometimes it is also called intuition. Internal dialogue, from the point of view of psychology, is the result of the interaction of three human ego states: "child", "adult" and "parent". Despite the age of the individual, these states always exist in his thinking, and in a difficult situation they come into conflict. As a result, the inner voice can give advice, criticize us, appeal to common sense, and so on. Research has shown that inner speech and inner voice are intracerebral impulses, and when a person thinks that voices are coming from outside, they actually come from within.

Finally

Today we learned what inner speech is. In Russian, this concept is closely intertwined with thinking and is used to describe a dialogue with oneself. Every person is prone to such a dialogue. This is a healthy process that allows you to calm down, analyze your life, think about this or that situation and plan further actions. In communication with oneself, a person comes to an inner balance, negotiates with himself in the present and finds the necessary compromises. Thus, the main result of dialogue with oneself is a sense of peace of mind.

There is not a single person on planet Earth who does not have an internal dialogue. Often people are not aware of this process, as it happens automatically. And this is normal, because it is not necessary to consciously participate in the internal dialogue. Thoughts are generated in the head in a free mode, often not even dependent on a person. From this follows the unawareness of the words spoken or the deeds done. There are cases when a person does not take part in the generation of ideas, but forms them automatically. Only after a while the individual begins to analyze how correct his behavior was in this or that situation. If a person disagrees with something, he feels regret that he did not take an active part in the thought process.

In psychology, it is customary to distinguish between two main forms of speech: external and internal.

External form of speech

External speech includes:

1. Oral (dialogical and monologue)

W Dialogic speech is supported speech; the interlocutor puts clarifying questions during her, giving remarks, can help complete the thought (or reorient it). Dialogue is a direct communication between two or more people. A kind of dialogic communication is a conversation, in which the dialogue has a thematic focus.

The basic rules of dialogic speech are:

- Politely introduce yourself and represent others.

Politely ask and answer questions.

Express a request, wish, bewilderment, delight, regret, agreement and disagreement, apologize and accept.

Talk on the phone.

Expressively and close to reality to play a role in staging a conversation, interview, in a conversation.

Play situations of communication with foreign peers, guests.

To exchange opinions about an event, a fact, a problem of discussion.

Share impressions about your future profession or further education.

Discuss issues of environmental protection, preservation of peace, health, etc.

Interrogate communication partners on various issues.

W monologue speech- a long, consistent, coherent presentation of a system of thoughts, knowledge by one person. It also develops in the process of communication, but the nature of communication here is different: the monologue is uninterrupted, so the speaker has an active, expressive, mimic and gestural effect. In monologic speech, in comparison with dialogic speech, the semantic side changes most significantly. Monologue speech is coherent, contextual. Its content must, first of all, satisfy the requirements of consistency and evidence in the presentation. Another condition, inextricably linked with the first, is the grammatically correct construction of sentences. The monologue does not tolerate incorrect construction of phrases. He makes a number of demands on the pace and sound of speech. The content side of the monologue should be combined with the expressive side. Expressiveness is created both by linguistic means (the ability to use a word, phrase, syntactic construction, which most accurately convey the speaker's intention), and by non-linguistic means of communication (intonation, a system of pauses, dismemberment of the pronunciation of a word or several words, which performs the function peculiar underlining, facial expressions and gestures).

During monologue speech, it is allowed

§ Speak on the content of the text based on brief notes, plan or key the words.

§ Speak on the content of the illustrative material based on questions.

§ Transmit the content of the text you have heard or read.

§ Talk about an event or fact.

§ Speak in class with a report or essay prepared at home.

§ Speak briefly on the content of the text read or listened to.

Oral speech- verbal (verbal) communication with the help of linguistic means, perceived by ear. Oral speech is characterized by the fact that the individual components of a speech message are generated and perceived sequentially.

The processes of generating oral speech include the links of orientation, simultaneous planning (programming), speech implementation and control: in this case, planning, in turn, takes place along two parallel channels and concerns the content and motor-articulatory aspects of oral speech.

Oral speech - this is a speech uttered in the process of speaking; the main form of using natural language in speech activity. For the colloquial style of the literary language, the oral form is the main one, while the book styles function both in written and oral form (a scientific article and an oral scientific report, a speech at a meeting without a pre-prepared text and a record of this speech in the minutes of the meeting). The most important distinguishing feature of oral speech is its unpreparedness: oral speech, as a rule, is created in the course of a conversation. However, the degree of unpreparedness can be different. This may be a speech on a topic unknown in advance, carried out as an improvisation. On the other hand, it can be a speech on a previously known topic, thought over in various parts. Oral speech of this kind is typical for official public communication. From oral speech, i.e. speech generated in the process of speaking, one should distinguish speech read or learned by heart; the term "sounding speech" is sometimes used for this type of speech. The unprepared nature of oral speech gives rise to a number of its specific features: an abundance of unfinished syntactic constructions (for example: Well, in general ... contemplation ... I can draw for friends); self-interrupting (There are still many people in Russia who want ... who write with a pen, not on a computer); repetitions (I would…I would…would like to say more); designs with a nominative theme (This boy / he wakes me up every morning); pickups (A - We invite you ... B - tomorrow to the theater). The specific features caused by the unpreparedness of oral speech, indicated above, are not speech errors, because do not interfere with the understanding of the content of speech, and in some cases serve as an important means of expression. Moreover, speech designed for direct perception, which is oral speech, loses if it is too detailed, consists exclusively of detailed sentences, if direct word order prevails in it. In a speech designed for the listener, the structural and logical pattern of the phrase often changes, incomplete sentences are very appropriate (saving the energy and time of the speaker and listener), passing additional thoughts, evaluative phrases are allowed (enriching the text and well separated from the main text by means of intonation). One of the most significant shortcomings of oral speech is its discontinuity (logical, grammatical and intonation), which consists in an unjustified stop of speech, in the break of phrases, thoughts, and sometimes in the unjustified repetition of the same words. The reasons for this are different: ignorance of what needs to be said, inability to formulate a subsequent thought, the desire to correct what was said. The second of the most common shortcomings of oral speech is its inseparability (intonational and grammatical): phrases follow one after another without pauses, logical stresses, without a clear grammatical formulation of sentences. The grammatical-intonational undividedness, of course, also affects the logic of speech: thoughts merge, their order becomes fuzzy, the content of the text becomes vague and indefinite. Written speech is a speech created using visible (graphic) signs on paper, other material, or a monitor screen.

Spoken language is generally regarded as older than written language. Writing is seen as an additional, secondary way of communication. The countdown of the origin of written speech is usually associated with the finds of ancient texts on stone, clay tablets, and papyri.

In everyday life, oral speech predominates, which is why it is considered the leading one. But gradually, written language begins to have an increasing influence on oral speech. Written speech is prepared speech. It can be checked, corrected, edited, shown to specialists and repeatedly improved, seeking to improve the content and form of presentation. All this is impossible to do if you keep the speech only in the mind. In addition, written speech is easier to remember and retains in memory longer. The written text disciplines the speaker, gives him the opportunity to avoid repetition, sloppy wording, reservations, hitches, and makes the speech more confident. Norms, literary norms of written speech are more strict, grammar courses were usually built on the structures of written speech.

Oral speech has some advantages: it has more immediacy, a lively feeling. At the same time, it requires a lot of training: almost automaticity in the choice of words. In oral speech, syntax is simpler, literary norms are not so strict; it uses numerous means of sound expressiveness: intonations, various pauses; it is accompanied by gestures, facial expressions. It is oral speech that provides greater contact in communication.

2. Written speech is a type of monologue. It is more developed than oral monologue speech. This is due to the fact that written speech implies a lack of feedback from the interlocutor. In addition, written speech has no additional means of influencing the perceiver, except for the words themselves, their order and the punctuation marks that organize the sentence.

Oral and written speech

Types of speech.

Oral speech - verbal communication with the help of linguistic means perceived by ear. Written speech - verbal communication through written texts. Communication can be delayed (letter) and direct (exchange of notes during lectures).

Oral speech manifests itself as colloquial speech in a conversation situation and is born, most often, from direct experience. Written speech manifests itself as business, scientific, more impersonal speech, intended for an interlocutor who is not directly present.

Written speech requires a more systematic, logically coherent presentation. In written speech, everything should be clear only from its context, that is, written speech is contextual speech.

Oral and written language are closely related. But their unity also includes significant differences. Signs of written speech (letters) denote the sounds of oral speech. However, written language is not simply a translation of spoken language into written signs.

Inner speech - it is the use of language outside the process of real communication.

There are three main types of inner speech:

a) internal pronunciation - “speech to oneself”, retaining the structure of external speech, but devoid of pronunciation of sounds;

b) internal modeling of external speech utterance;

c) inner speech as a mechanism and means of mental activity.

Inner speech is not necessarily silent, it can be a form of auto-communication when a person talks loudly to himself.

The main characteristics of inner speech are: situationality; soundlessness; intended for oneself; curtailment; saturation with subjective content.

Inner speech does not directly serve the purposes of communication; nevertheless, it is social in terms of:

1) origin (genetically) - is a derivative form of external speech;

L. S. Vygotsky considered egocentric speech as a transitional stage from external to internal speech. Egocentric speech genetically goes back to external speech and is the product of its partial internalization.

External and internal speech can be dialogical and monologue.

The number of speakers is not a decisive criterion in distinguishing between dialogue and monologue. Dialog - This is primarily a verbal interaction. Unlike a monologue, two semantic positions are expressed in speech form in it. The characteristic features of an external monologue are the expression in external speech of one semantic position (the speaker) and the absence of an external speech of the second participant in communication addressed to him.

Distinguish between internal and external speech. External speech can be oral and written. Oral speech can be in the form of a monologue (one speaks - others listen) or dialogue (a conversation with one or, alternately, with several interlocutors).

It is not difficult to distinguish between these types of speech in form. It is more important to understand their features in terms of content (in terms of completeness, depth, and detailed presentation). When comparing monologue and dialogic forms of oral speech, one must keep in mind that a monologue should be much more complete and detailed than a dialogue.

Indeed, in the dialogue it turns out what the interlocutor (or interlocutors) knows and what is not known, with what they agree and with what they do not agree. It is not necessary to inform about the known, it is not necessary to convince by points of agreement. In a monologue, it is necessary to give all possible information, before looking at all possible objections.

Written speech, in comparison with oral speech, should also be more complete, clear, detailed, and convincing. After all, written speech, as a rule (with the exception of the exchange of short notes), is a monologue. In addition, written speech, in contrast to oral speech, is devoid of such powerful allies as gestures and intonation.

The fullness and expansion that should be inherent in written speech does not mean that it should be long. We must strive to ensure that "words are cramped, but thoughts are spacious." The least clear and detailed is inner speech. It is closely connected with external, especially oral, speech. It has now been proven that outwardly imperceptible movements of the sound-reproducing muscles take place in all cases of inner speech.

But inner speech is a conversation with oneself. And, although the “internal dispute” can be very fierce, it proceeds in the forms of “folded” speech, where it is enough to understand the general meaning. It is a different matter if we “rehearse” external speech in inner speech. Then we strive to observe all the rules of external speech in inner speech.

All these features of different types of speech must be taken into account not only when speech is used to communicate with other people, but also when speech is the basis of individual thinking. Thought begins to “ripen” in us in the form of inner speech (although the source of thought is always the external activity of a person).

But after all, inner speech is "folded" and fuzzy. Therefore, the “embryo” of thought is also fuzzy. To make a thought clear and clear even to oneself, one must say it out loud, or at least “rehearse” this pronunciation. But it is best to explain your thought to others.

Then it will become clearer for you too. The anecdotal story about a professor who claimed to begin to understand a subject when he explained it to his students for the third time is not without a grain of truth. But it is especially useful for clearing up the clarity and completeness of thoughts is their presentation in writing, if you keep a diary, enter into it not only the actual description of events, but also your thoughts about these events. This written “thinking” of life will be of great benefit to you.

The development of speech in the process of age-related development of a person is a long and complex process. From the first days of a child's life, a preparatory, pre-speech period begins in mastering speech. Already screams develop the respiratory and speech apparatus of the child (it must be remembered that the screams of a child are a signal of some kind of trouble in his condition). Then there is babble, which is already directly related to the formation of speech.

Understanding of audible words, mastering them as signals, first of the first signal system (for designating specific objects), and then of the second signal system (allowing generalization and abstraction) begins at the end of the first - beginning of the second year of life, even before the child begins to use speech for communication with others.

"Guide to Medical Psychology",
I.M. Tylevich

Inner speech, first of all, is connected with the provision of the process of thinking. This is a very complex phenomenon from a psychological point of view, which provides the relationship between speech and thinking.

Inner speech is not aimed at communication. This is a conversation between a person and himself. In inner speech, thinking flows, intentions arise and actions are planned. The main sign of inner speech is its unpronunciation, it is soundless. Internal speech is divided into internal pronunciation and internal speech proper. Inner speech differs in structure from outer speech in that it is folded, most of the minor members of the sentence are omitted in it. Inner speech, like outer speech, exists as a kinesthetic, auditory or visual image. In contrast to internal speech proper, internal pronunciation coincides in structure with external speech Vygotsky L. S. Collected Works: In 6 vols. Vol. 1: Questions of theory and history of psychology / Ch. ed. A. V. Zaporozhets. -- M.: Pedagogy, 2001. Internal speech is formed on the basis of external speech. Inner speech is speech about oneself, with it we do not address other people. Inner speech has a very significant meaning in a person's life, being connected with his thinking. It organically participates in all thought processes aimed at solving some problems, for example, when we strive to understand a complex mathematical formula, understand some theoretical issue, outline a plan of action, etc.

This speech is characterized by the absence of full sound expression, which is replaced by rudimentary speech movements. Sometimes these rudimentary articulatory movements take on a very noticeable form and even lead to the utterance of individual words in the course of the thought process. “When a child thinks,” says Sechenov, “he certainly speaks at the same time. In children about five years old, the thought is expressed in words or conversation in a whisper, or at least in the movements of the tongue and lips. This is extremely common with adults as well. At least I know from my own experience that when my mouth is closed and motionless, my thought is very often accompanied by mute conversation, that is, by movements of the muscles of the tongue in the oral cavity. In all cases, when I want to fix some thought predominantly over others, I will certainly whisper it. It even seems to me that I never think directly with a word, but always with muscular sensations that accompany my thought in the form of a conversation. In some cases, inner speech leads to a slowing down of the thought process.

Despite the lack of complete verbal expression, inner speech obeys all the rules of grammar inherent in the language of a given person, but only does not proceed in such a detailed form as external speech: a number of omissions are noted in it, there is no pronounced syntactic articulation, complex sentences are replaced by separate words. This is explained by the fact that in the process of practical use of speech, abbreviated forms began to replace more detailed ones. Inner speech is possible only as a transformation of outer speech. Without a preliminary full expression of a thought in external speech, it cannot be abbreviated in internal speech.

Speech communication is a complex and multifaceted process. Speech is the process of verbal communication between people. At the same time, speech is multifunctional. There are many classifications of speech functions, the main of which are communicative and significative. The main types of speech are external and internal speech. External speech, in turn, is divided into separate subspecies: monologue, dialogic, oral, written and kinesthetic. Inner speech is inextricably linked with external speech and is a special form of the thought process.