> Anyone else ever focus on their language-based thoughts while thinking them and notice how every mentally verbalized thought seems to have almost a pre-echo o

> Anyone else ever focus on their language-based thoughts while thinking them and notice how every mentally verbalized thought seems to have almost a pre-echo of that thought that seems like words but isn't? Yes. I noticed this when I was first getting into programming and concluded that the verbal part wasn't strictly necessary and should be avoided when possible. Seems to be an issue similar to verbalizing while reading or not (i.e. 'subvocalization'. I always did verbalize initially, but now I can fairly often get into a mode where it feels like the book is reading itself and I understand the words, but there is no enunciation). I have two main, perhaps conflicting hypotheses on language and thinking now: 1) It's used to solidify trains of thought, similarly to writing down ideas—makes them more stable and easier to return to. Sometimes it's useful to echo your thoughts verbally in order to get this solidification, but it's not necessary. 2) Everything that appears in consciousness is a representation of something deeper going on in the brain. Certain subconscious processes are represented as what we call language in the brain, but the language itself isn't 'active' in any sense. edit: fixed phrasing.