The sound of thought: Form matters-The prosody of inner speech.

Summary

Inner speech—the silent, internal use of language—is not just about the content of thoughts but also their structure, according to this theoretical paper grounded in embodiment. The authors argue that inner speech simulates the acoustic features of spoken language, especially prosody (rhythm, intonation, and stress), which gives form and structure to thought. This form is essential for mental life, supporting functions like attention, memory, emotion regulation, self-regulation, social conceptualization, and the narrative of self. The paper reviews varieties of inner speech and evidence for its form, concluding that inner speech maintains structural form as a simulation. Future research should explore how this form makes mental processes accessible to conscious thought.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This paper offers a new perspective on inner speech based on the theoretical framework of embodiment, focusing on the embodiment of structure rather than content. We argue that inner speech is used to simulate the acoustic aspects of overt speech including prosody. Prosody refers to the rhythm, intonation, and stress of spoken language, which is closely related to structural aspects of phrases, sentences, and larger language contexts such as discourse and narrative. We propose that inner speech gives form and structure to thought, and that this form is a necessary component of mental life. Thus, our paper opens with a review of the varieties of inner speech, followed by evidence concerning the form of inner speech, and finally, we discuss the functionality of inner speech. We consider cognitive and socio-emotional functions in which inner speech is involved and posit that inner speech serves as a simulation that maintains form and that this form serves different aspects of thought - attention, memory, emotion and self- regulation, social conceptualization, and narrative of self. In concluding, we address future research asking how inner speech contributes to making mental processes accessible to conscious thought, and whether accessibility to consciousness is related to form and structure.