Italian All-in-One For Dummies (42 page)

Or you may find yourself in this familiar situation: You're waiting for a call, but the telephone doesn't ring. Then, you have to go out. When you get back, you want to know whether anyone called for you. You can ask that question in several ways:

Ha chiamato qualcuno per me?
(ah kyah-
mah
-toh kwahl-
kooh
-noh pehr meh?) (
Has anybody called for me?
)

Mi ha chiamato qualcuno?
(mee ah kyah-
mah
-toh kwahl-
kooh
-noh?) (
Did anybody call me?
)

Non mi ha cercato nessuno?
(nohn mee ah chehr-
kah
-toh nehs-
sooh
-noh?) (
Has anybody looked for me?
)

Talkin' the Talk

Leo wants to give Camilla a call, but she's not home. Therefore, he leaves a message for her.

Leo:
Buongiorno, sono Leo.

bwohn-
johr
-noh,
soh
-noh
leh
-oh.

Good morning, this is Leo.

Voice:
Ciao Leo.

chou
leh
-oh.

Hello, Leo.

Leo:
C'è Camilla?

cheh kah-
meel
-lah?

Is Camilla in?

Voice:
No, è appena uscita.

noh, eh ahp-
peh
-nah ooh-
shee
-tah.

No, she's just gone out.

Leo:
Quando la trovo?

kwahn
-doh lah
troh
-voh?

When can I find her?

Voice:
Verso le nove.

vehr
-soh leh
noh
-veh.

Around nine.

Leo:
Le posso lasciare un messaggio?

leh
pohs
-soh lah-
shah
-reh oohn mehs-
sahj
-joh?

Can I leave her a message?

Voice:
Come no, dimmi.

koh
-meh noh,
deem
-mee.

Of course, tell me.

 

As you can see, there are different ways for asking for people as well as for saying that they're not in and asking whether you can leave a message. The preceding informal dialogue gives you one way of saying these things, and the dialogue that follows recasts the situation into a formal exchange.

Talkin' the Talk

Mr. Marchi calls Mr. Trevi's office to talk about an upcoming meeting. Mr. Trevi's secretary picks up the phone. (Track 10)

Secretary:
Pronto?

prohn
-toh?

Hello?

Sig. Marchi:
Buongiorno, sono Ennio Marchi.

bwohn-
johr
-noh,
soh
-noh
ehn
-nioh
mahr
-kee.

Good morning, this is Ennio Marchi.

Secretary:
Buongiorno, dica.

bwohn-
johr
-noh,
dee
-kah.

Good morning, can I help you?

Sig. Marchi:
Potrei parlare con il signor Trevi?

poh-
trehy
pahr-
lah
-reh kohn eel see-
nyohr
treh
-vee?

Can I speak to Mr. Trevi?

Secretary:
Mi dispiace, è in riunione.

mee dees-
pyah
-cheh, eh een ree-ooh-
nyoh
-neh.

I'm sorry, he's in a meeting.

Sig. Marchi:
Potrei lasciargli un messaggio?

poh-
trehy
lah-
shahr
-lyee oohn mehs-
sahj
-joh?

May I leave him a message?

Secretary:
Certo. Prego.

chehr
-toh.
preh
-goh.

Of course. Go on . . .

 

Sometimes you don't understand the name of the person you're talking to and you have to ask for the spelling. If someone needs you to spell your name, you may hear either of the following questions:

Come si scrive?
(
koh
-meh-see
skree
-veh?) (
How do you write it?
)

Può fare lo spelling?
(pwoh
fah
-reh loh spelling?) (
Can you spell it?
)

Don't worry too much about this; as long as you know the basic Italian alphabet in Book I,
Chapter 1
, you'll be able to spell your name and town to anyone!

Discussing Your Job

The world is getting smaller, and business contact with people in other countries is getting more common. Whether by phone, fax, or e-mail, knowing how to communicate to business colleagues around the world is becoming more and more important. If you happen to have business contacts with Italian companies, knowing some basic Italian business vocabulary may be useful.

Italian has at least four words for
company
—
la compagnia
(lah kohm-pah-
nyee
-ah),
la ditta
(lah
deet
-tah) (which also means
the firm
),
l'azienda
(lah-
dzyehn
-dah), and
la società
(lah soh-cheh-
tah
). These words are virtually interchangeable.

L'ufficio
(loohf-
fee
-choh) is Italian for
office.
The following sentences give you a taste of the phrases you hear in
uffici
(oohf-
fee
-chee) (
offices
) everywhere:

La mia scrivania è troppo piccola.
(lah
mee
-ah skree-vah-
nee
-ah eh
trohp
-poh
peek
-koh-lah.) (
My desk is too small.
)

È una grande società?
(eh
ooh
-nah
grahn
-deh soh-cheh-
tah?
) (
Is it a big company?
)

Lavora per una piccola agenzia.
(lah-
voh
-rah pehr
ooh
-nah
peek
-koh-lah ah-jehn-
tsee
-ah.) (
He works for a small agency.
)

Mi piace il mio lavoro.
(mee
pyah
-cheh eel
mee
-oh lah-
voh
-roh.) (
I like my job.
)

Referring to coworkers

Even if you are
libero professionista
(
lee
-beh-roh proh-fehs-syoh-
nee
-stah) (
self-employed
), chances are that your
lavoro
(lah-
voh
-roh) (
job
) puts you in contact with other people. All those people have titles and names, as the following short exchanges show:

Il mio capo è una donna.
(eel
mee
-oh
kah
-poh eh
ooh
-nah
dohn
-nah.) (
My boss is a woman.
)

Hai un'assistente personale?
(ahy oohn-ahs-see-
stehn
-teh pehr-soh-
nah
-leh?) (
Do you have a personal assistant?
)

No, il nostro team ha un segretario.
(noh, eel
nohs
-troh teem ah oohn seh-greh-
tah
-ryoh.) (
No, our team has a secretary.
)

Dov'è il direttore?
(doh-
veh
eel dee-reht-
toh
-reh?) (
Where is the director?
)

Nel suo ufficio.
(nehl
sooh
-oh oohf
-fee-
choh.) (
In her office.
)

Interviewing

Congratulations! You've sent in your
curriculum
(koohr-
ree
-kooh-loohm) (
resumé
) and the company has invited you for a
colloquio di lavoro
(kohl-
loh
-kwyoh dee lah-
voh
-roh) (
job interview
). The job interview is a discussion in which you have to take an active part. Not only do you have to “sell” your skills, but you must also assess
le opportunità di carriera
(leh ohp-pohr-tooh-nee-
tah
dee kahr-
ryeh
-rah) (
career opportunity
) and
crescita professionale
(
kreh
-shee-tah proh-fehs-syoh-
nah
-leh) (
professional growth
) within the company.

As a
candidato
(kahn-dee-
dah
-toh) (
candidate
), you answer and ask questions, exchange
punti di vista
(
poohn
-tee dee
vee
-stah) (
points of view
), and emphasize your potential. Don't forget that the objective is to move toward a mutual, good
rapporto di lavoro
(rahp-
pohr
-toh dee lah-
voh
-roh) (
working relationship
).