Telepathy vs. Command word items

[mabriss lethe]

Earlier this week, I tuning in on the thread concerning the Warlock Invocation "Hellspawned Grace" (or whatever it's called, I can't remember.) It got me thinking about something.

Can a creature who only speaks telepathically utilize magic items that have a command word? Does telepathy count as speech for this purpose? Does anyone know if there's official word out there? I flipped through Rules Compendium and Fiendish Codex 1 & 2, but all were silent on the matter.

[LibraryOgre]

I would personally say no, unless likewise made by a telepathic creature; indeed, I could see telepathic creatures (e.g. mind flayers) making "command word" items that are activated by telepathic words, rather than spoken.

[mabriss lethe]

I suppose I should read through Savage Species next, just to be sure. (should have gone there first, now that I think about it.)

This may be a little premature, but I think this might be a matter of RAW vs RAI. There's nothing inherently unbalanced with a telepathic character activating an item this way as long as they're still eating their actions to do so. (as a DM, I have no trouble with the idea.) It's just such an obscure point of game mechanics that it was a situation that didn't occur to the designers.