Why does the act of reading trigger the larynx? Do you speed read?

Asked by kevbo (25672) January 24th, 2010 from iPhone

I recently came across this fact in an article about the evolution of reading and in an instructional video about speed reading. Apparently, reading silently is a relatively modern phenomenon (like in the last 500 years or something). Prior to that, everyone who could read read aloud.

Even so, most people today still read “out loud” in that the act of reading triggers inaudible responses from the larynx prior to sending the signal to the brain. Speed reading programs tend to focus on techniques that bypass the larynx signal to allow direct and faster processing via the brain.

So, I’m interested both in the science/evolutionary aspect of this, and the arts and letters POV—whether the incantation of words is somehow more human or spiritual or something. It also has me wondering about the common critcism of people who can’t read without mouthing the words, when that seems to be the more natural way to do it.

Finally, does progress for humans lie in bypassing the larynx or is it more about a benefit of science that gives us another option for processing text?

Do you speed read? What is your experience?

I’m shooting from the hip regarding the science, so feel free to correct.