Vygotsky's Conception of Writing ¹⁵⁴¹

The object of our contribution is to elaborate Vygotsky’s notion of writing in a close reading of his texts. Two major fields of interest in Vygotsky’s work on writing are identified: a developmental perspective on the one hand, and the notion of “written speech” in the context of inner and verbal speech on the other hand. We first look at Vygotsky’s early ideas on the ontogenesis of writing. Further, we explore the relationship between the notion of “written speech” and the concepts of inner and verbal speech according to Vygotsky. Writing appears as both a cognitive and a communicative process. Finally, we take up these lines of thought and suggest possible ways to further develop the Vygotskian notion of written speech.

Keywords: abstraction, generalization, inner and outer speech, meaning and its context, ontogenesis, written speech, oral speech, language, higher mental functions, cognitive skills, predicate, psychological systems, monologue, teaching to write, functions of speech, motivation of speech, symbol, phonetic symbol, teaching as a social activity