84 The way you say it

A

B

C Verbs denoting volume: from quiet to loud

Mumble and mutter are both usually negative: Stop mumbling! I can’t hear what you’re saying. He was muttering something under his breath – probably complaining, as usual. Murmur can be more positive: They murmured their approval when he told them the plan. The phrase without a murmur means without any protest, complaint or comment: They accepted it all without a murmur. I was surprised; normally they argue about everything. Raise your voice can be used in positive or negative contexts: You’ll have to raise your voice a bit. She’s a little hard of hearing. [speak louder]

Don’t you raise your voice at me! [Do not speak in that loud, angry tone.] Shout, yell, scream, roar and shriek are all followed by at: Don’t shout at me! Yell often conveys urgency, anger, frustration; it is also used when there is much surrounding noise: He yelled at the children to stop messing around with his computer. ‘Stay where you are!’ he yelled above the noise of the traffic. Shriek means loud and very high-pitched. It can be used in positive and negative contexts: ‘Oh, wow! That’s fantastic!’ she shrieked. Roar suggests very loud volume, but deeper-pitched, like a lion. It is used in positive and negative contexts: The crowd roared as he kicked the ball into the back of the net. ‘How dare you come in here!’ he roared angrily.

Verbs describing speech and styles of conversation

Tom and Lily are always nagging (at) each other. [criticising faults or duties not done] Stop bickering over who sits by the window, you two! [arguing in an irritated way usually about something petty; synonym = squabble] They spent all evening slagging off their colleagues. [criticising in an insulting way; very informal]

Jessie is always whining and whingeing. [complaining in an annoying way; informal, negative] He’s been chatting away on the phone all morning. [suggests light, non-serious talk; note how away is used to emphasise continuous/extended talk] We always gossip about work when we go out together. [talk about people, rumours, etc.] It took him a long time to realise they were winding him up. [/ˈwaɪndɪŋ/ teasing, fooling him; informal;

noun = wind-up, often used in phrase, a complete wind-up] I realised she was buttering me up. [saying nice things because she wanted something from me; negative] Rick tends to exaggerate his problems, so don’t take him too literally. [make something seem greater

than it really is; noun = exaggeration] Meg is inclined to generalise on the basis of her very limited experience. [make general statements

about something; noun = generalisation]

Speech and articulation problems

example meaning She speaks with a lisp. She lisps: she says ‘thing’ instead of ‘sing’. difficulty in making an ‘s’ sound and making a ‘th’ sound instead

He hates speaking in front of people because he’s got a really bad stammer. speak with abnormal pauses and repetitions

‘I want to t-t-t-tell you something,’ she stuttered nervously. repeat sounds at the beginning of words

He was slurring his words because he had drunk far too much alcohol. his words had a slow, lazy sound, difficult to understand

I want to tell her I love her, but I get tongue-tied. cannot say what I want to say because of nerves, i.e. emotional rather than physical problem affecting speech

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84.4

Without looking at the opposite page, can you remember the following?

1 a verb meaning ‘to argue in an irritated manner’ 2 a phrase meaning ‘without complaining’ 3 a verb meaning that someone often makes a ‘th’ sound instead of a ‘s’ or ‘z’ sound 4 three verbs meaning ‘speak very loudly’ that are followed by at 5 how the verb roar is different from the verb shriek 6 a verb meaning talking about people, usually when they are not present, often about their private affairs 7 a verb meaning to tease someone or fool them to make them look silly 8 a noun meaning making something sound more important or worse than it really is

Fill the gaps with one word.

1 ‘I want to c-c-c-c-come with you,’ she nervously. 2 Lara got , perhaps because of the famous people present, and didn’t say a word all evening. 3 I wish you’d speak up and stop . I can’t hear a word you’re saying. 4 I had to at him to be heard, the noise of the plane was so loud. 5 ‘I love you,’ he softly. 6 I hate people who about their workmates. I never talk about other people. 7 The drugs had made her speech very incoherent. She was all her words. 8 She speaks with a – she says whithper, instead of whisper. 9 I know Ben is a little strange but you can’t about all Canadians just because of him.

Choose the correct word to complete these sentences.

1 They’re always wining / whining and whingeing about everything. Take no notice of them. 2 I don’t believe you. I think you’re winding me up / down. 3 Do you think Peggy was trying to bicker / butter me up for some reason? I wonder why she was saying all those nice things about me? 4 You’re always nagging / slagging me! Just leave me alone and let me watch TV!

Complete the crossword.

3 1 2 Across 3 people often do this on the phone for hours 4 speak in a soft voice

Down 1 speak loudly 2 another word for stutter 5 make a loud, deep sound like a lion

4 5