Subjectivity and language: developmental psychology and beyond

Abstract

This paper discusses the consequences of the assumption of an epistemic subject when language is called upon, as is the case of Developmental Psychology. It focuses on a privileged theoretical locus – the “egocentric speech” – where “speech” and “ego” are explicitly put together. Children’s monologues are taken as empirical evidence of the moment when cognitive regulatory processes start operating – processes which lead to individual control of both motor and linguistic actions. In the area of Language Acquisition, children’s monologues are taken as expressions of the emergence of metalinguistic abilities, that is, of linguistic awareness. This means that, although language is analyzed according to descriptive linguistic apparatus, the epistemological status of the child as an epistemic subject is maintained. I shall attempt to introduce an alternative view. The monologues show a subject not in control of what he says. This is the reason why I keep distance from analyses developed both in Developmental Psychology and in the area of Language Acquisition.