I was talking to a friend the other day about reading. He said that as he reads (a novel, for example) he hears the words, like a voice inside his head.
I read a lot, and I don’t think I hear anything when I read.
We asked a few people at work, and in our very small sample group the men claimed to hear an internal voice when they read while the women did not. It also came out in our discussion that the men visualized what they were reading to a greater degree than the women did.
I don’t think I visualize much. For example, I don’t hold a mental picture of what a character looks like unless the author goes to a lot of trouble to create an image, such as in a romance novel where a character’s physical appearance is described repeatedly.
Not much visualization. I was surprised by a thread not too long ago where this was discussed - apparently lots of people do full visuals while reading. I had no idea.
Always hear that voice, though. When I read, when I type, when I talk to myself…
Usually the voice I hear is mine, unless the writer has gone to some length to describe another voice, such as in dialogue, where a character speaks with an accent.
I visualize when the writer wants me to --like Eleanor said, character descriptions, physical surroundings, landscape, weather, etc.
Depends on the author/novel. There are novels when I only see the words, yet others when I’m actually there, in the room, with Dmitrij and the Devil for instance, and there’s everything in between, depending on the novel.
Forgot about that - yup, I tend to hear text “in character” for familiar voices. Otherwise it’s usually a generic voice unless I work to hear an accent because of dialogue or descriptions. However, generally once I’ve got the accent for the character, then it stays without further effort.
No voice. Sometimes i visualize, mostly when the author deeply describes…but I don’t really visualize people I hear only on the phone, either. And this is why I sometimes like my characters fully-fleshed out in movies and sometimes not.
I was unaware that other people heard voices when they read until my wife happened to bring it up a couple of years ago in the company of a friend. Both my wife and our friend were likewise unaware that other people *didn’t * hear voices.
On the other hand, I do hear voices in my head when I think. (I’m not crazy, I’m not!) But I do think a lot like a story…“he said, she said”. Once I even said that when talking about myself, when I was about 12. “She said…” me and my mom cracked up. But they’re all my voices. When I read Gerald’s Game -
Spoilers Ahead*
There was a lot about the various voices she heard, and different tones she heard them in. I was really surprised. Since then I’ve always wondered if people really hear such distinct voices…when they scold themselves, do they hear teachers? Their mother? I never hear anything like that.
*For all you who hate spoiler boxes, this is all I ask…state the name, and just warn us that spoilers are ahead! Please? Pretty please?
(Sorry for not including this in my previous post.)
I do visualize quite a lot, especially if the author is deftly describing an object or scene in detail. I don’t care for the description of a beautiful bird sitting on a branch as “… the beautiful bird sat on a branch ,” but if the author goes to the effort of telling me about the bird’s beautiful qualities, I’ll go to the effort of visualizing them.
I haven’t seen any of the Harry Potter movies, mostly because the snippets of special-effects scenes I’ve seen haven’t impressed me, but you can be sure that I see Daniel Radcliffe, Maggie Smith and Robbie Coltrane when I read the books.
I don’t really think of it as hearing. I must hear it because sometimes I will notice a phase “sounds” good, but I still don’t think of it as hearing. I don’t see much either which makes me wonder exactly what I’m experiencing! I guess sounds and images pass through my consciousness but it’s as if they are coming in and out of a fog. Yet somehow the whole experience is vivid enough. I guess that’s why I like it. It’s not really like looking at things or hearing something at all to me. It’s more like things are going straight into my brain like instant memories.
It depends. Most novels and poetry–I do hear a voice (not necc. mine) and I do imagine the setting(in great detail), and the characters(not is such great detail, but sometimes…).
Nonfiction, like technical stuff I hear spoken in my head in measured, newcaster type tones. Humor is about the only type of written material where I don’t hear a voice. Strange.
I can’t imagine reading for pleasure without a voice and images. It’s better than most recreational drugs, IMO.
I “hear” voices for each of you regular posters; the more I read your posts and get familiar with the personalities behind the writing, the more distinct they become.
I get the same sort of feeling. Not sure if the internal voice really fades, or if I just ignore it after a while. I also ‘hear’ an internal voice when typing, or making plans.
Commonly yes I do hear voices. But I’m more likely to “hear” them when I’m consciously or subconsciously seeking to absorb information. If, for example, I glance up, like I just did, and see the Google ads, I don’t hear a voice. While I was reading the rest of the thread, I did “hear” it as well.
