The issue of data and evidence plays a crucial role in science. What counts as evidence within a theoretical framework is one of the central problems in contemporary linguistics. Although recent publications have focused on this methodological question and highlighted the relevance of different types of data, a fundamental aspect has been ignored:…

Proposes that formal properties of speech reflect individuals' mental processes during problem solving, focusing on ways native and non-native speakers of English construct narrative. In difficult tasks, speakers cope by externalizing their inner order as private speech, whose content and formal properties reflect cognitive processes. It is argued…