Subvocalization, or silent speech, is the internal speech typically made when reading; it provides the sound of the word as it is read. This is a natural process when reading and it helps the mind to access meanings to comprehend and remember what is read, potentially reducing cognitive load.
When readers reach a bit of dialogue, they likely create "spontaneous imagery" of the reported speakers voice. Earlier studies have acknowledge that internal speech is normal. In fact those who don't imagine voices in their head may have health issues.
Also known as internal dialogue, inner monologue is a voice inside your head. It occurs due to certain brain mechanisms that make you hear yourself talk without actually speaking. This “little voice in your head” is a common occurrence, but not everyone experiences it.
It sounds relatively normal—but does everyone have an inner monologue? While individual internal experiences are difficult to study, “Research suggests that not everyone possesses [an internal monologue],” says Sari Chait, Ph. D., a clinical psychologist at the Behavioral Health and Wellness Center in Newton, MA.
There is a connection between a person's inner monologue and intelligence. It is more likely for adults with developed verbal skills and a higher IQ to have a wordier inner voice than children with less language development and lower IQ. However, some people access their internal monologue visually rather than audibly.
An estimated 50-70% of the population doesn't have an internal monologue. The notion of living without an internal monologue is a fairly new one. Until psychologist Russell Hurlburt's studies started coming out in the late 90s, it was widely accepted that everyone had a little voice narrating in their head.
For example, Hurlburt estimates that between 30% and 50% of people frequently experience an inner monologue.
Learning to read often involves reading out loud also, in which case we hear our own voice. As vocalization is suppressed in order to read silently, the muscles may still move slightly, and we "hear" what we know we would sound like if we were to speak out loud.
It's generally accepted that, because of the role it's believed to play in reading comprehension and memory, subvocalization is very useful for reading technical materials, learning new words, or memorizing material word-for-word.
He and his collaborators have shown that people consistently remember words and texts better if they read them aloud than if they read them silently. This memory-boosting effect of reading aloud is particularly strong in children, but it works for older people, too. “It's beneficial throughout the age range,” he says.
A reading voice is where you are reading the text and taking in what the text says. A thinking voice is the voice you hear when you are applying different strategies like asking questions, making connections, making predictions and analytically thinking through the text.
Mental health problems – you may hear voices as a symptom of some mental health problems, including psychosis, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder or severe depression.
Saying words in your head can sometimes be helpful. For example, when you are reading material that has technical terminology or vocabulary that you are not familiar with. In situations like this, saying words in your head, or even aloud, can be a helpful way to improve and expand your vocabulary.
For some people, ruminating thoughts are a way to control anxiety. It may mean you're replaying life events in an attempt to make sure that next time, you're prepared and won't feel as anxious. Repeating entire conversations in your head is a type of rumination. It's how your mind attempts to self-soothe.
If you're hearing yourself in your head while reading, that is because this is how most people were taught to read; to say the words silently in their head. This habit is called subvocalization, and although typical, it is one of the main reasons people read slowly and have trouble improving their reading speed.
The lack of an inner monologue has been linked to a condition called aphantasia — sometimes called "blindness of the mind's eye." People who experience aphantasia don't experience visualizations in their mind; they can't mentally picture their bedroom or their mother's face.
Inner monologue was thought to be a part of the human being. But it turns out there are people who have never experienced it. Actually, inner dialogue is a frequent occurrence for only 30 to 50 percent of people. So, some people don't have an inner voice.
Those that do not have an internal monologue may instead visualize their thoughts. This is called "sensory awareness."
Speed reading experts claim that subvocalization is the bottleneck that slows down your reading. If you can learn to just recognize words visually without saying them in your inner voice, you can read much faster. Here the evidence is clear: subvocalization is necessary to read well.
A person who was born deaf has only ever known communication through the form of signs and images, like British or American Sign Language, so it is very likely that a deaf person will communicate internally the way they do externally. Interestingly, some deaf people have learned to speak through vocal training.
Thank you for your question Karen. Voice hearing is often called auditory verbal hallucinations in the research literature. Hearing a voice or voices is not an uncommon occurrence with between 0.6% and 84% of the population hearing voices that other people don't.