If the linkage was broken, they wouldn't move at all. If they're
sluggish, a good possibility is that the bearings at the base of the
wiper arms have gone dry and seized. This is common on many cars. Remove
the arms and the seals and you'll be able to see if the bearings are
turning or not. If they're not moving well and/or look a bit corroded,
see if you can work some oil into them. Once they're lubed, they should
be good for a few month to perhaps a year Depending on how often you use
them.

I haven't examined an Accent wiper linkage, but my Excel's had ball and
socket joints at both ends and one of the sockets had broken. This
created a lot of play in the system. The symptom was that the wipers
wouldn't always sweep their full stroke, but sometimes they would sweep
past where they should have stopped.

on my 99 the nut came loose a few times and the arms sstarted to
slip.  basic wrench job.

My mom has the same car and she had to get a whole new linkage set (this may
not be the term) from the dealer b/c something was seized in the motor? It
is very common problem w/ this model b/c the way the vents are, air/dust
gets in there and dries up the lube (from what I read online). But it only
comes as a set. It was about $100 CAD and us girlies "installed" it
ourselves in about 10 min :)