Verbal Thoughts

Exploring the Experience of Inner Speech

Verbal thoughts are those that occur in the form of words, as if we were mentally speaking. 

They can manifest as complete sentences, sentence fragments, isolated words, or even internal dialogues, often being associated with self-reflection, planning, decision-making, and emotional regulation.

In phenomenological experience, these thoughts can present different characteristics. In some cases, they are clear and articulated, while in others, they appear in a more diffuse manner. 

They may arise spontaneously or be generated deliberately, also varying in terms of the perception of their spatial location: some people experience them as if they were "inside the head," while others perceive them in different parts of the body or without a defined location. 

Additionally, they can have different tones and vocal qualities, sounding like the thinker’s own voice, the voice of someone else, or even without a specific auditory quality.

Do you mentally talk to yourself or imagine yourself conversing with someone? 

If so, can you perceive how this happens? 

What do you do to produce words and sentences mentally?

Before moving on to my phenomenological description of the inner speech process, try to perceive for yourself, in your own experience, how this happens.

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Description

In my experience of inner speech, I feel how I need to subvocalize to produce it. This subvocalization does not occur at the level of the lips or the tongue; instead, it seems to happen in the central and internal region of my throat. 

In this way, it is distinguished from the movements I perceive in other perceptual, cognitive, and affective aspects, as I have described in other posts, which seem to move the throat rather than occur within it. 

When I try to relax this sensation — which likely results from the activation of the intrinsic muscles of the larynx — I experience difficulty in mentally articulating words and sentences. 

If I try to "shout" internally, I physically feel an increase in effort in this region and in my breathing. 

However, by shifting my throat in the way described in other aspects, the sensation of effort may appear to transfer to another part of the head or body, giving the impression that verbal thoughts occur in these other areas. 

Still, I have the impression that this shift happens because, in some way, I am redirecting both the tension and attention to another area, without the internal speech articulation ceasing to be generated in the originally reported region. 

Furthermore, it seems possible to gradually transition from verbal thought (in my case, subvocalization) to vocalization by applying more force to the muscles involved, activating nearby muscles, and directing a more concentrated airflow through this region. 

One can explore the reverse process to enhance the perception of this transition. That is, it begins with projected speech, clearly articulating words with the lips. 

Then comes speaking like a ventriloquist, without moving the lips. Next, tongue articulation is reduced. After that, speech continues with the mouth closed. 

Finally, the volume of the voice, the muscular effort, and the airflow through the vocal cords are gradually decreased — until only the 'inner voice' remains.

It is similar to moving the lips without producing sound. That is, articulation still occurs, but without activating the 'key' that turns it into sound.

Another way to become aware of these internal movements is to try to imagine that you are shouting inside your mind, as I mentioned earlier.

Considerations

The issue of subvocalization is controversial, in the sense that it does not seem to be truly necessary for the production of inner speech.

However, here, I have phenomenologically described how I perceive it, without relying on empirical research or prior theories. 

The problems related to scientific data that contradict these descriptions, as well as those that corroborate them, I intend to present and discuss in future posts.

To highlight some of these issues, consider individuals who undergo surgeries to remove laryngeal structures (laryngectomy) due to cancer, sometimes resulting in total removal. 

I’m unsure exactly how such a change would affect the perceptions I’ve described here and in previous posts. 

Speculatively, if my perception aligns with what actually occurs in these processes, compensatory mechanisms may come into play. 

The oculomotor muscles, for instance, might take on some of these functions, as they seem to do in certain cases.

Another point is that these structures may not be essential for these processes. They could be part of the process while present, but their absence does not necessarily prevent the processes from occurring.

When available, however, they can modulate these processes. It’s like an unlocked door: its existence doesn’t block entry, but for someone to enter, it needs to move. 

If the door wasn’t there, the passage would be direct, with no interference. But when present, I can use it to block entry from the inside. 

Similarly, these movements, when available, can be mobilized to modulate these cognitive, perceptual, and affective aspects, but their absence does not make these processes impossible.

Other structures, often involved in these processes, may also be absent in certain conditions without completely preventing them. 

For example, individuals who rely solely on oral breathing still experience emotions, even if they can’t modulate them through nasal breath control (Zelano et al., 2016). 

Those with facial paralysis cannot adjust their facial expressions, and individuals with body paralysis cannot adopt postures that influence their emotional states. 

At the brain level, even lesions in areas traditionally associated with emotions sometimes may not result in the complete loss of these functions. 

As I mentioned, these issues will be discussed in more detail at a later time.

References:

Zelano, C., Jiang, H., Zhou, G., Arora, N., Schuele, S., Rosenow, J., & Gottfried, J. A. (2016). A respiração nasal arrasta as oscilações límbicas humanas e modula a função cognitiva. O Jornal de neurociência: o jornal oficial da Sociedade de Neurociência, 36(49), 12448–12467. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2586-16.2016

Check out these posts to understand the phenomenological approach used in providing these descriptions of experience: 1) What is Phenomenology; 2) Naturalization of Phenomenology; 3) Micro-Phenomenology; 4) Intersubjective Validation; 5) Embodied Cognition; 6) 4E