The sound of thought: Form matters-The prosody of inner speech.
Physics of life reviews December 1, 2024 Hamutal Kreiner, Zohar Eviatar 9 citations
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.