> "Subvocalize" has a literal meaning (micro-activation of the vocal cords) which good silent readers avoid.
Right; so I'm not subvocalising.
> But you're still activating the vocal areas of the brain...
Well, sure. I see the symbol 'cat' and both the memory-complex representing a cat and the audio complex representing the spoken version of the symbol will be activated. That's how memory associations work. The written version of the symbol and the spoken version of the symbol will be strongly associated, because they represent the same concept.
But that doesn't mean I have to wait for the audio to finish playing before I move on to the next symbol. That's a misconception of what's actually happening.
(Plus, of course, hardly anyone reads a word at a time. It's nearly always complete phrases. Frequently not even in the right order.)
> If you read much poetry, you'll see that the connection between reading and sound is pretty inseparable.
Well, no. Poetry is mostly intended to be read aloud; it's supposed to be subvocalised. It's unrelated to prose (or computer programs).