# Do humans have a native internal voice synthesizer? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 22, 2011, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-humans-have-a-native-internal-voice-synthesizer/603729 "2011-11-22T06:58:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-humans-have-a-native-internal-voice-synthesizer/603729/1 "2011-11-22T06:58:29Z")
I’m posting in MPSIMS because it’s possible that there is no factual answer for this. In fact there’s a good possibility that it will end up getting all philosophical. I have written yet another Cthulhu carol to send my brother as part of his Christmas present. Although it’s to the tune of a well-known holiday song, the words of course are different. So, I have never heard this song sung by anyone at all. And just now, I was doing something, and the song was running through my head. _Wait a minute_, I thought, _just whose voice is that singing in my head anyway?_ I can’t be remembering hearing it sung, because I haven’t – I just made it up a week ago. It doesn’t sound like my voice; in fact, it doesn’t sound like **anyone’s** voice in particular. This is gonna sound weird, but it’s almost as if it’s the sound of someone singing the words in tune, without a voice involved. How can this be? Can “the sound of a voice”, and “the sound of a \*\*particular \*\*voice” possibly be two separate formations? Has anyone done any research on the voice with which we think? I hope I’m stating this clearly enough for you to get the idea. It just suddenly kinda weirded me out. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-humans-have-a-native-internal-voice-synthesizer/603729/2 "2011-11-22T23:10:13Z")
We can only speculate that while in the throes of your insanity you heard the voice of Nyarlathotep. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-humans-have-a-native-internal-voice-synthesizer/603729/3 "2011-11-22T23:34:09Z")
I guess you could say we have a built in synthesizer in that we can take all the sounds we hear and combine and modify them in our head–even to the point where it happens automatically. As for what you heard, that’s pretty close to how my inner monologue always works. I didn’t know people actually heard real voices. And, as a musician, I’ll apply this to music. Usually I just hear the note and know that the words are being sung, even though I can’t “hear” them. It’s similar to how things often work in my dreams, knowing something is happening, even though I don’t see it. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-humans-have-a-native-internal-voice-synthesizer/603729/4 "2011-11-23T00:34:41Z")
**BigT:** I read somewhere that when schizophrenics hear voices, the cilia in their ears actually move, like they do in response to an external sound. I’m not “hearing” the song in that way. It’s more like, you know how they say you see something “in your mind’s eye?” This could be described as my mind’s ear. And, **G0sp3l,** I decided I really shouldn’t tease the friends of the Many-Angled Ones; so here it is: _(ssssh! Don’t tell my brother!)_ Cthulhu, The Lurking Horror Cthulhu, the lurking horror has some very slimy toes but if you ever see him it’s too late to look at those all of the guys on hilltops used to chant and call his name trying to raise Cthulhu and bring down the world in flames yet one day the time will come when we’ll hear them say, “Master, all the stars are right. Won’t you wake and rise tonight?” any glimpse we get of him is the last thing we will see Cthulhu, the lurking horror puts an end to history! ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-humans-have-a-native-internal-voice-synthesizer/603729/5 "2011-11-23T02:38:28Z")
> [@brujaja](#): > > **BigT:** I read somewhere that when schizophrenics hear voices, the cilia in their ears actually move, like they do in response to an external sound. > > I’m not “hearing” the song in that way. It’s more like, you know how they say you see something “in your mind’s eye?” This could be described as my mind’s ear. > > And, **G0sp3l,** I decided I really shouldn’t tease the friends of the Many-Angled Ones; so here it is: _(ssssh! Don’t tell my brother!)_ > > Cthulhu, The Lurking Horror > > Cthulhu, the lurking horror > has some very slimy toes > but if you ever see him > it’s too late to look at those > all of the guys on hilltops > used to chant and call his name > trying to raise Cthulhu > and bring down the world in flames > > yet one day the time will come > when we’ll hear them say, > “Master, all the stars are right. > Won’t you wake and rise tonight?” > > any glimpse we get of him > is the last thing we will see > Cthulhu, the lurking horror > puts an end to history! 😃 If we scream in terror nicely, can we get an mp3 of that and the backing tune? ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-humans-have-a-native-internal-voice-synthesizer/603729/6 "2011-11-23T05:14:49Z")
**Dude:** It’s “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” (you know… Cthulhu the lurking horror, had a very shiny nose…) You may also be interested in [the original Cthulhu Carol, and more for this year,](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=614338) and [last year’s](http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd69/brujaja/Dec102010-VID00094_4.jpg) [Elder God Statue.](http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd69/brujaja/Dec102010-VID00095_5.jpg) I will post a picture of \*\*this \*\*year’s statue (it’s awesome!), but not until after Christmas – just in case. P.S. How could I forget? There’s one more: “Tentacles Are Coming To Town:” you better watch out, for creepers and slime it really is just a matter of time, tentacles are coming to town they’re writing his name, unspeakable runes they’re chanting the same, I’m telling you soon, tentacles are coming to town he’ll eat you if you’re sleeping you’re toast if you’re awake don’t matter if you’re bad or good 'cos he don’t care how you taste, OH ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-humans-have-a-native-internal-voice-synthesizer/603729/7 "2011-11-23T05:29:49Z")
ha ha, … “tentacles, tentacles, cnidae all the way!..” ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-humans-have-a-native-internal-voice-synthesizer/603729/8 "2011-11-23T14:55:02Z")
I’ve been aware of this for some time, though I never thought of it as a synthesizer. But year, sometimes I “hear” actual recorded music (right now it’s John Lennon), but sometimes it’s something from my own imagination. I sometimes write music in this way. And I can “play” it with a human voice of my choice or any instrument, or even groups of instruments. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-humans-have-a-native-internal-voice-synthesizer/603729/9 "2011-11-23T16:35:44Z")
> [@brujaja](#): > > **Dude:** It’s “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” (you know… Cthulhu the lurking horror, had a very shiny nose…) > > You may also be interested in [the original Cthulhu Carol, and more for this year,](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=614338) and [last year’s](http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd69/brujaja/Dec102010-VID00094_4.jpg) > [Elder God Statue.](http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd69/brujaja/Dec102010-VID00095_5.jpg) > > I will post a picture of \*\*this \*\*year’s statue (it’s awesome!), but not until after Christmas – just in case. > > P.S. How could I forget? There’s one more: “Tentacles Are Coming To Town:” > > you better watch out, for creepers and slime > it really is just a matter of time, > tentacles are coming to town > > they’re writing his name, unspeakable runes > they’re chanting the same, I’m telling you soon, > tentacles are coming to town > > he’ll eat you if you’re sleeping > you’re toast if you’re awake > don’t matter if you’re bad or good > 'cos he don’t care how you taste, OH Oh, I knew it was Rudolph, I thought you were sending it to your brother as a recording. I have no musical talent so I can’t do it myself. ☹ Just think a bit of auto-tune and you could be the next youtube sensation. Or unleash unimaginable horror on the universe… Which, now that I think about it, are pretty much the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-humans-have-a-native-internal-voice-synthesizer/603729/10 "2011-11-24T15:48:09Z")
Heh heh heh! ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-humans-have-a-native-internal-voice-synthesizer/603729/11 "2011-11-24T20:40:37Z")
BTW, **G0sp3l,** out of idle curiosity I googled the coordinates given as your location. (I"m always interested in regional variations.) I see what you did there. :D:D ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-humans-have-a-native-internal-voice-synthesizer/603729/12 "2011-11-26T04:15:12Z")
> [@brujaja](#): > > BTW, **G0sp3l,** out of idle curiosity I googled the coordinates given as your location. (I"m always interested in regional variations.) > > I see what you did there. :D:D I wouldn’t advise taking a vacation at those coordinates. 😃