Very good article:
http://csep.psyc.memphis.edu/mcnamara/pdf/2001IEotSaBsSpeed.pdf
The Carver study:
http://www.jstor.org/pss/747363
http://www.jstor.org/pss/747851
Wikipedia:
Subvocalization, or silent speech, is defined as the internal speech made
when reading a word, thus allowing the reader to imagine the sound of the
word as it is read.[1] This is a natural process when reading and helps to
reduce cognitive load, and it helps the mind to access meanings to enable
it to comprehend and remember what is read. Although some people associate
subvocalization with moving one's lips, the actual term refers primarily to
the movement of muscles associated with speaking, not the literal moving of
lips. Most subvocalization is undetectable (without the aid of machines)
even by the person doing the subvocalizing.
Subvocalization involves actual movements of the tongue and vocal cords
that can be interpreted by electromagnetic sensors. Since 1999 NASA, as
part of its Extension of the Human Senses program, has been working on a
system that can interpret a limited number of English words using nervous
signals gathered from sensors placed on the throat's exterior. Chief
Scientist for Neuroengineering at NASA Ames Research Center, Dr. Chuck
Jorgensen, has suggested that it could have potential applications for
rescue operations people, security and special operations forces, people
with vocal cord problems, and might even find a place in gaming.
Advocates of speed reading generally claim that subvocalization "places
extra burden on the cognitive resources, thus, slowing the reading down."
These claims are currently backed only by controversial, sometimes
non-existent scientific research; in some cases, concepts are drawn from
pseudoscience and urban myths about the brain. Speedreading courses often
prescribe lengthy practices to eliminate subvocalizing when reading. Normal
reading instructors often simply apply remedial teaching to a reader who
subvocalizes to the degree that they make visible movements on the lips,
jaw, or throat.[2]
There is no evidence that normal non-observable subvocalizing will
negatively affect any reading process [1] At the more powerful rates
(memorizing, learning, and reading for comprehension), subvocalizing is
very detectable by the reader. At the less powerful, faster rates of
reading, (skimming, and scanning) subvocalization is less detectable. For
competent readers, subvocalizing to some extent even at scanning rates is
normal.[2]
It may be impossible to totally eliminate subvocalization because people
learn to read by associating the sight of words with their spoken sounds.
Sound associations for words are indelibly imprinted on the nervous
system-even of deaf people, since they will have associated the word with
the mechanism for causing the sound or a sign in a particular sign
language. Subvocalizing is an inherent part of reading and understanding a
word, and micro-muscle tests suggest that subvocalizing is impossible to
eliminate. Attempting to stop subvocalizing is potentially harmful to
comprehension, learning, and memory. At the more powerful reading rates
(100-300 words per minute), subvocalizing can be used to improve
comprehension.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subvocalization
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