Limits to thought speak

[ThinkAgain]

But thought speech isn't technically audible, so it shouldn't be based on your physical voice at all. My best guess is that the projected voice is determined by how you hear your own voice.

A weak analogy, for those who have seen The Matrix, would be how they described how clothing and hairstyles are generated upon entering.

Still, I see no reason why one wouldn't be able to use thought-speech to project any communication based thought at all, whether or not it can be done in a voice. Andalites do not have a physical voice, so technically their language could use completely abstract sounds if reproduced, such as beeps. If you think about a bell ringing, there isn't any logical reason why you couldn't be able to send it to others. It's not like sending specific memories or even visuals; its just a sound. Think about the African languages that use clicks. Just because they don't involve vocal cords like western languages doesn't mean it couldn't be thought-spoken.

[Stephquiem]

I always assumed it worked sort of like actual speech, in that you don't say everything you think. They aren't just projecting all their thoughts, just the ones they choose to project to others. They also seem to keep their own voice, but like with normal speech you can attempt to imitate others.

Yeah, that's kind of what I figured, too.  The only time someone ever said something in thought-speak without meaning to was Jake, that one time in #41 (was it #41?  I can't remember for sure.  Something about a picnic in the Yeerk pool.)  I would think that if it was just your thoughts, there would be slip-ups like that ALL THE TIME.

It was 17. A bit far off. XD

But yeah, from how it is in the books, it looks like it's just like regular talking. Well.. it's like a mixture of talking and IM. XD You know, because you can talk to multiple people at once, or you can exclude people.

[Phoenix004]

Yeah I remember that part of #17, just before they attempt to reach the Yeerk Pool through the McDonalds. Jake accidentally says something "out loud" and Marco points out that his fellow Animorphs all heard it. This still fits the idea of thought speech working a lot like regular speech, as people do sometimes say things aloud without meaning to. Honestly, I'm almost surprised this doesn't happen to the Animorphs more often!

[Green armadillo ette]

I think that louder thought-speak voices go farther; like real voices. Also when you morph someone then you get the voice too, even thought-speak voices. It would be odd if one of the human Animorphs morphed an adult, but had the voice of a pre-teen.