Phonemic imagery refers to the processing of thoughts as words rather than as symbols or other images. It is sometimes referred to as the equivalent of inner speech [1] or covert speech,[ citation needed ] and sometimes considered as a third phenomenon, separate from but similar to these other forms of internal speech.[ citation needed ]
Intrapersonal communication is a communicator's internal use of language or thought. It can be useful to envision intrapersonal communication occurring in the mind of the individual in a model which contains a sender, receiver, and feedback loop.
Imagined speech is thinking in the form of sound – “hearing” one’s own voice silently to oneself, without the intentional movement of any extremities such as the lips, tongue, or hands. Logically, imagined speech has been possible since the emergence of language, however, the phenomenon is most associated with the signal processing and detection within electroencephalograph (EEG) data as well as data obtained using alternative non-invasive, brain–computer interface (BCI) devices.
Phonemic imagery is a part of the philosophy of consciousness rather than linguistics as it is considered an internal phenomenon of consciousness observed through reflection rather than amenable to empirical observation.
Consciousness at its simplest refers to “sentience or awareness of internal or external existence”. Despite centuries of analyses, definitions, explanations and debates by philosophers and scientists, consciousness remains puzzling and controversial, being “at once the most familiar and most mysterious aspect of our lives". Perhaps the only widely agreed notion about the topic is the intuition that it exists. Opinions differ about what exactly needs to be studied and explained as consciousness. Sometimes it is synonymous with 'the mind', other times just an aspect of mind. In the past it was one’s “inner life”, the world of introspection, of private thought, imagination and volition. Today, with modern research into the brain it also includes any kind of experience, cognition, feeling or perception. It may be ‘awareness’, or 'awareness of awareness’, or both. Questions include whether consciousness is one kind with different features or whether there are different kinds of consciousness, or whether only humans are conscious or all animals or even the whole universe. The disparate range of research, notions and speculations raises doubts about the sensibility of the questions being asked.
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. It involves analysing language form, language meaning, and language in context. The earliest activities in the documentation and description of language have been attributed to the 6th-century-BC Indian grammarian Pāṇini who wrote a formal description of the Sanskrit language in his Aṣṭādhyāyī.
Introspection is the examination of one's own conscious thoughts and feelings. In psychology, the process of introspection relies exclusively on observation of one's mental state, while in a spiritual context it may refer to the examination of one's soul. Introspection is closely related to human self-reflection and is contrasted with external observation.
