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A Question
Feb. 18th, 2025 01:34 pmYesterday was Family Day here in Ontario, and my brother and his wife took my parents and I out for dinner, during which we had a discussion about reading, and now I need to know something:
When you read, do you hear a voice in your head reading the words to you?
My SIL and I do, my mum, dad, and brother don't.
Now, my brother and mum both have varying degrees of aphantasia as well (inability to picture things in their mind). Not sure about my dad, but my SIL can picture things in her mind, so I don't know if that's related.
I did Google this, and found out it's something called 'subvocalization', and for people who do hear the voice, their larynxes actually make micro movements like they're speaking, though not producing any actual sound. If you can turn off the voice, you can also apparently read faster, which I believe, since my mum sails through books. I couldn't find out if it's 'normal' to hear the voice or not, though, or if it's just typical human variation, so I'm curious about other people's experiences.
I'm also curious to know if you don't hear a voice, how does the information get into your head? Like, how are the words getting to your brain if you aren't...putting them here with your head voice? My brother just shrugged when I asked, and my mum's description was essentially she sort of absorbs vibes of emotion from the character situations or something.
Anyway, if you feel like sharing with the class, let me know, because I am very intrigued.
When you read, do you hear a voice in your head reading the words to you?
My SIL and I do, my mum, dad, and brother don't.
Now, my brother and mum both have varying degrees of aphantasia as well (inability to picture things in their mind). Not sure about my dad, but my SIL can picture things in her mind, so I don't know if that's related.
I did Google this, and found out it's something called 'subvocalization', and for people who do hear the voice, their larynxes actually make micro movements like they're speaking, though not producing any actual sound. If you can turn off the voice, you can also apparently read faster, which I believe, since my mum sails through books. I couldn't find out if it's 'normal' to hear the voice or not, though, or if it's just typical human variation, so I'm curious about other people's experiences.
I'm also curious to know if you don't hear a voice, how does the information get into your head? Like, how are the words getting to your brain if you aren't...putting them here with your head voice? My brother just shrugged when I asked, and my mum's description was essentially she sort of absorbs vibes of emotion from the character situations or something.
Anyway, if you feel like sharing with the class, let me know, because I am very intrigued.
