Revisiting Marx and problematizing Vygotsky: a transformative approach to language and speech internalization

• Published in: Language sciences (Oxford) 2018-11, Vol.70, p.143-154
• Main Authors: Sawyer, Jeremy E., Stetsenko, Anna
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Collaboration; Integrationism; Karl Marx; Labor; Labor market; Language; Lev Vygotsky; Marx, Karl (1818-1883); Marxism; Marxist psychology; Private speech; Psychology; Speech; Speech internalization; Theoretical linguistics; Transformative activist stance; Vygotsky, Lev
• ISSN: 0388-0001; 1873-5746
• DOI: 10.1016/j.langsci.2018.05.003

Following Marx, Vygotsky saw the historical origins of language in labor, geared to coordinating productive activity that transforms the world and humans themselves. This collaborative activity entails dynamic interactivity, productive practicality and the profound sociality and historicity of language. Vygotsky’s attempted to advance psychology on these Marxist grounds while integrating insights from psychological and linguistic theories of his time, resulting in a complicated tapestry of ideas not without gaps and contradictions. Consequently, many valuable questions have been raised regarding Vygotsky’s views, especially on speech internalization, in an ongoing debate that is currently far from settled. This paper proposes that Vygotsky’s theory of language can be revised and deepened on the premises of a transformative onto-epistemology (Stetsenko, 2016) that helps to restore and advance its original Marxist orientation. The transformative approach expands on Marx’s and Vygotsky’s key insights while moving beyond their canonical interpretations. One of the implications of this approach is that internalization is not the mere appropriation of social language for individual mental use, but a process of turning toward oneself as a collaborative social quasi-partner in transformative activity. We further consider the role of language in a Marxist-Vygotskian framework that foregrounds agentic, transformative social activity. •Marx and Vygotsky saw the historical origins of language in coordinating labor.•Vygotsky's attempted to advance a Marxist psychology with language as a key element.•Questions have been raised regarding Vygotsky's views on speech internalization.•Vygotsky's theory of language can be deepened using a transformative approach.•Internalization is turning toward oneself as a partner in transformative activity.