1996'6, p.107
Shotter J.
M. M. Bakhtin and L. S. Vygotsky: internalization as a "boundary phenomenon"
(RESUME)

The author argued that rather than having a mechanical and systematic character, our "inner lives" function in essentially the same communicative terms as our ordinary, everyday transactions with other people out in the world. This account is further extended: Making use of M. M. Bakhtin's writings, it is claimed that instead of functioning in terms of already well-formed mental representations at the centre of our being, awaiting codification in words, our mental activities are only "given form" at the time of their expression, in a moment by moment process of "ethically sensitive negotiation" at the boundaries of our being. This gives rise to a nonreferential, responsive view of speech, and suggests that when we speak of as our selves or as our ideas, rather than being real origins, or extralinguistic points of reference "outside" of our discourses, are created as a part of them.