The Relation of Tongue Movements to Internal Speech.

Sines the discussion by Bain in 1879, the problem of the actual relation of 'internal speech' to verbal mechanisms has been of interest to psychologists, and has led to rather extensive discussion.Earlier writers are difficult to interpret as to their point of view concerning the function of overt movements.Bain ('79) made the statement that 'thinking is restrained speaking or acting.'He also says, "When we recall the impressions of a word or sentence, if we do not speak it out, we feel the twitter of the organs (vocal) . . .."In the same year Ribot ('79) advanced a similar theory, "When man reads silently each visual perception is accompanied by suppressed articulation."He is of the opinion that all the psychical processes terminate in movement of some sort or other, but he does not particularly stress internal speech nor insist that it is necessary for all thinking.Most of the older theories of inner speech are characterized by the absence of any attempt to relate it to motor phenomena.Those of Egger ('81) and Ballet ('86) are the most conspicuous in this group.To these writers inner speech seems to be something intangible, something psychic, which they cannot explain, so they attempt to settle the controversy by calling that something inner speech.They do not wish to imply that inner speech is thinking, but that it is merely the vehicle of thought, or the outer garment in which thought makes its appearance.Inner speech does not enter in until a thought 'mil, l ," C,.|in.,ily*