#491013 CEBRASPE (CESPE) - 2012 - Soldado Policial Militar (PM AL)/Combatente

Speech is one of the most important ways of communicating. It consists of far more than just making noises. To talk and also to be understood by other people, we have to speak a language, that is, we have to use combinations of sounds that everyone agrees represent a particular object or idea. Communication would be impossible if everyone created their own language.

Learning a language properly is very important. The basic vocabulary of English is not very large, and only about 2,000 words are needed to speak it quite well. But the more words you know, the more ideas you can express, and the more precise you can be  about their exact meaning.

Words are the main thing we use in communicating what we want to say. The way we say the words is also very important. Our tone of voice can express many emotions and shows whether we are pleased or angry, for instance.

As well as talking with our voices we can also talk with our bodies. This may seem surprising at first, but if you watch two people having a conversation you  will see that it is true. People often move their hands to emphasise what they are saying. Listeners use gestures too. They may nod their head to show that they have understood or shake it to indicate disagreement. Also, if you are enjoying talking to someone, you tend to sit forward in your seat. If you are not, you may sit back  with your arms folded.

S. Greenall and D. Pye. Cambridge Skills for Fluency Cambridge. Cambridge University Press, 1996 (adapted.)

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