Definition:
Saying words silently to oneself while reading.
Examples and Observations:
- "[R]eading theorists such as Gough (1972) believe that in high-speed fluent reading, subvocalizing does not actually happen because the speed of silent reading is faster than what would occur if readers said each word silently to themselves as they read. The silent reading speed for 12th graders when reading for meaning is 250 words per minute, whereas the speed for oral reading is only 150 words per minute (Carver, 1990). However, in beginning reading, when the word-recognition process is far slower than in skilled fluent reading, subvocalization . . . may be taking place because the reading speed is so much slower."
(S. Jay Samuels "Toward a Model of Reading Fluency." What Research Has to Say About Fluency Instruction, eds. S.J. Samuels and A.E. Farstrup. International Reading Assoc., 2006) - "A powerful but woefully under-discussed influence on readers is the sound of your written words, which they hear inside their heads as they subvocalize--going through the mental processes of generating speech, but not actually triggering speech muscles or uttering sounds. As the piece unfolds, readers listen to this mental speech as if it were spoken aloud. What they 'hear' is in fact their own voices saying your words, but saying them silently.
"Here is a fairly typical sentence. Try reading it silently and then out loud.It was the Boston Public Library, opened in 1852, that founded the American tradition of free public libraries open to all citizens.
As you read the sentence you should notice a pause in the flow of words after 'Library' and '1852' . . .. Breath units divide the information in the sentence into segments that readers subvocalize separately."
(Joe Glaser, Understanding Style: Practical Ways to Improve Your Writing. Oxford Univ. Press, 1999)
