We can comunicate with other people in many different ways. We can talk and write, send messages with our hands and faces and there is also the phone, fax and e-mail.
Since ancient times people have used different signals to communicate over long distance. The Red Indians of North America used fire in a different way: to smoke signals to each other.
In many countries of Europe it was common to ring church bells, not only to call people to church, but also to warn them of denger. Sometimes they were rung to announce a celebration – after a wedding or at christmas. In Africa, jungle drums were used in similar ways to send messages.
Nowadays, the most widely used is, of course, the telephone, which was invented by Alexander Graham Bell towards the end of the last century. A similar form of communication, radio, has also been widely used during the twentieth century and the use of radio has helped to make air and sea travel much safer.
Communication is sending messages from one person to another. Animals use only non-verbal methods of communication. Non-verbal communication are facial expressions and gestures many of them have the same meaning all over the world. E.g. people smile when they are happy, people froun when they are sad. Another way of showing your feelings is touch and sounds, e.g. groans show that we are bored or depressed, laughter shows that we are frightened. Handshakes, hugs and kisses are different ways of greeting people.
Adults do not speak to children in the same way as they speak to each another, doctors speaking to doctors about an illnesses use different language from doctors talking to patients.
We use different words in different situation, e.g. when we are on interview we use different vocabulary then we are at birthday party celebration.