Italian All-in-One For Dummies (40 page)

Chapter 6

Using the Phone and Talking Business

In This Chapter

Phoning and texting

Making reservations and appointments over the phone

Getting through to the person you want and leaving messages

Talking about your job

I
n this chapter, you encounter expressions and phrases that relate to telephones and telecommunication — for example, how to behave when someone calls you and how to leave a message. In addition, you'll find some samples of common phone dialogues. This chapter also delves into life at the office, helping you get a handle on terminology for both people and things around your workplace.

Phoning Made Simple

Pronto!
(
prohn
-toh!) (
Hello!
) is the first thing you hear when you talk to an Italian on the phone. In most languages, you answer the phone with the same word you use for saying hello in person, but in Italian, you use
pronto
to say hello only on the phone.

You can answer the phone and say
Pronto. Chi parla?
(
prohn
-toh. kee
pahr
-lah?)
(
Hello. Who's speaking?
)

A typical response may be
Pronto! Sono Sabrina. C'è Stefano?
(
prohn
-toh!
soh
-noh sah-
bree
-nah. cheh
steh
-fah-noh?) (
Hello! This is Sabrina. Is Stefano there?
)

Or you may hear
Sono Susanna. Posso parlare con Michele per favore?
(
soh
-noh sooh-
sahn
-nah.
pohs
-soh pahr-
lah
-reh kohn mee-
keh
-leh pehr fah-
voh
-reh?) (
This is Susan. May I please speak with Michael?
)

Connecting via cellphones, texts, and video

Italians love their
cellulari
(
chehl
-looh-
lah
-ree) (
cellphones
); there's no doubt about that. They were one of the first cultures to embrace full-force the
telefonino
(teh-leh-foh-
nee
-noh) (
little phone
) back in the '80s, when they adopted this useful accessory as a fashion (and social/class) statement.

Acquiring a cellphone

When you're in Italy, you need to have your own cellphone because public phones are hard to find, and hotel phones are very expensive to use. If you take your phone with you from, say, the United States, make certain that it will work in Italy and that calls won't cost you a mint. Of course, you can buy a phone when you get there. If you buy one, phone time can be purchased two ways at the local
tabaccaio
(tah-bahk-
kah
-yoh) (
tobacconist
). You can purchase
una scheda telefonica
(
ooh
-nah
skeh
-dah teh-leh-
foh
-nee-kah) (
a phone card
), or you can ask the salesperson to charge your phone for you by putting on a specific number of minutes or euros. You can do the same thing at any branch of the phone store where you bought your cellphone.

Text messaging

Because Italians tend to text more frequently than make phone calls these days (because it's so much cheaper and also trendy), you should know how to say a couple of important things, such as
messaggino
(mehs-sahj-
jee
-noh) or
sms
(
ehs
-seh-
ehm
-meh-
ehs
-seh), two ways of saying
text message,
and
mandami un messaggino
(
mahn-
dah-mee oohn mehs-sahj-
jee-
noh) (
text me
) (Literally:
send me a text message
).

Using the Internet to connect

All cities have their share of Internet stations where you can pay a per-minute fee to use the Internet. All you have to ask is
Posso usare Internet?
(
pohs
-soh ooh-
zah
-reh
een
-tehr-neht?) (
May I use the Internet?
) whereupon you'll be asked for
un documento
(oohn doh-kooh-
mehn
-toh) (
identification
) and assigned to a computer station. There, you can make Internet calls or e-mail to your heart's content.

Here are a few more useful phone phrases:

Avete un telefono?
(ah-
veh
-teh oohn teh-
leh
-foh-noh?) (
Is there/Do you have a [public] telephone?
)

Avete schede telefoniche?
(ah-
veh
-teh
skeh
-deh teh-leh-
foh
-nee-keh?) (
Do you sell phone cards?
)

Ha un recapito telefonico?
(ah oohn reh-
kah
-pee-toh teh-leh-
foh
-nee-koh?) (
Do you have a contact phone number?
) (You may hear this when you go to change money at the bank.)

Qual è il suo/tuo numero di telefono?
(kwahl eh eel
sooh
-oh/
tooh
-oh
nooh
-meh-roh dee teh-
leh
-foh-noh?) (
What is your
[formal/informal]
phone number?
)

Talkin' the Talk

Giorgio is back in Naples again and decides to give an old friend of his a call. (Track 8)

Simona:
Pronto!

prohn
-toh!

Hello!

Giorgio:
Pronto, Simona?

prohn-
toh, see-
moh
-nah?

Hello, Simona?

Simona:
Sì, chi parla?

see, kee
pahr
-lah?

Yes, who's speaking?

Giorgio:
Sono Giorgio.

soh
-noh
johr
-joh.

It's Giorgio.

Simona:
Che bella sorpresa!

keh
behl
-lah sohr-
preh
-zah!

What a nice surprise!

Sei di nuovo a Napoli?

sey dee
nwoh
-voh ah
nah
-poh-lee?

Are you in Naples again?

Giorgio:
Sì, sono arrivato stamattina.

see,
soh
-noh ahr-ree-
vah
-toh stah-maht-
tee
-nah.

Yes, I arrived this morning.

Simona:
Ci vediamo stasera?

chee veh-
dyah
-moh stah-
seh
-rah?

Are we going to meet tonight?

Giorgio:
Ti chiamo per questo!

tee
kyah
-moh pehr
kwehs
-toh!

That's why I'm calling!

 

In Italy, when you don't know a
numero di telefono
(
nooh
-meh-roh dee teh-
leh
-foh-noh) (
phone number
), look it up in the
elenco telefonico
(eh-
lehn
-koh teh-leh-
foh
-nee-koh) (
phone book
). If it's a business number, you can also look in the
pagine gialle
(
pah
-jee-neh
jahl
-leh) (
yellow pages
).