Try counting out loud while you’re reading (idea stolen from Feynman).
I can read perfectly fine while counting, but I can’t type while counting. I am typing this message while re-reading your post.
That you can hear words while reading doesn’t necessarily indicate that you are sub-vocalizing, as you may be perceiving words at the post-word-parsing stage, with the individual syllables having never been produced by any mental process.
That’s strange. I thought I wouldn’t be able to do it, but I tried and it turns out I can. It’s difficult, though, and I’m not counting perfectly (there are repetitions and possibly skips). If I focus more on getting the counting right my reading ability degrades. I’ve also noticed on earlier occasions that I can read while listening to someone speak, this as well done imperfectly.
EDIT: I realised you might have meant to count loud out. I actually just counted in my head. I’m now trying to count to out loud (even while writing this comment 290.. 291… 292..) I can still read (and even write). It’s hard, I sometimes have pauses in my counting and I read with noticeably less attention and speed.
Perhaps we can use that as a gauge of sub-vocalization while reading, which would not be subject to different interpretations as much as the question whenever you sub-vocalize at all… i.e. if there is any interference between reading and counting out loud, then you subvocalize to some extent, if there’s no interference then you don’t subvocalize at all.
Huh, same here, it was much easier than I expected. Elsewhere in the comments, buybuydandavis noted a distinction between ‘hearing’ and ‘saying’, and I think that’s what’s going on here, for me it least. I say what I’m counting, but mostly hear what I’m reading.
I can’t read while listening to someone, so at least somewhat different things are going on between us.
I can’t read while listening to someone, so at least somewhat different things are going on between us.
I tested this some more, and I’m not sure how much I can really do this. A large part of it seems to be reading in the gaps of speech when someone is speaking slowly or reading and not noticing I missed some portion of the speech.
Try counting out loud while you’re reading (idea stolen from Feynman).
I can read perfectly fine while counting, but I can’t type while counting. I am typing this message while re-reading your post.
That you can hear words while reading doesn’t necessarily indicate that you are sub-vocalizing, as you may be perceiving words at the post-word-parsing stage, with the individual syllables having never been produced by any mental process.
That’s strange. I thought I wouldn’t be able to do it, but I tried and it turns out I can. It’s difficult, though, and I’m not counting perfectly (there are repetitions and possibly skips). If I focus more on getting the counting right my reading ability degrades. I’ve also noticed on earlier occasions that I can read while listening to someone speak, this as well done imperfectly.
EDIT: I realised you might have meant to count loud out. I actually just counted in my head. I’m now trying to count to out loud (even while writing this comment 290.. 291… 292..) I can still read (and even write). It’s hard, I sometimes have pauses in my counting and I read with noticeably less attention and speed.
380.. 381.. 382
Perhaps we can use that as a gauge of sub-vocalization while reading, which would not be subject to different interpretations as much as the question whenever you sub-vocalize at all… i.e. if there is any interference between reading and counting out loud, then you subvocalize to some extent, if there’s no interference then you don’t subvocalize at all.
Huh, same here, it was much easier than I expected. Elsewhere in the comments, buybuydandavis noted a distinction between ‘hearing’ and ‘saying’, and I think that’s what’s going on here, for me it least. I say what I’m counting, but mostly hear what I’m reading.
I can’t read while listening to someone, so at least somewhat different things are going on between us.
I tested this some more, and I’m not sure how much I can really do this. A large part of it seems to be reading in the gaps of speech when someone is speaking slowly or reading and not noticing I missed some portion of the speech.