Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
I think that using "reading" as a synonym for "listening" is one of those things that irritates some people (and I'm in that camp), while others will happily use it. Fortunately we can all use words in the sense we wish to.
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And yet when talking to someone on the radio it's common to confirm that they've received the message with a question like "Do you read me?".
I read about a year ago a reference to the the idea that silent reading is a relatively new thing. The earliest mention of silent reading in Western literature is by St. Augustine expressing his surprise when he found St. Ambrose reading and not moving his lips or saying the words.
There's speculation that reading was done aloud before that.
I think there's plenty of room to call listening to a book reading. It's not common usage among most of us but it's not that uncommon either.
I usually say I listened to a book and sometimes I'll even say I read it and then correct that. That's mostly because I know some people care about that distinction and I like to be honest. I personally don't think it's a very important distinction.
Barry