# All Slavic languages: telephone etiquette



## mateo19

Hello everyone!

I was wondering how Slavic peoples speak when they use the phone.  I would be very interested in knowing the following things (if it is not too much, but it is some basic telephone vocabulary).

*Hello!  (I have noticed that sometimes this word is different from the regular word for "hello".)

*May I please speak to ...(person's name)...
OR
*Is ...(person's name)... there / home?

*Please tell him / her that ...(caller's name)... called.

*When will he / she be home?

I am not looking for literal translations of these phrases.  I am interested in knowing the equivalents of these phrases in your languages.  For example, I called a Russian friend in Saint Petersburg the other day and my tourist book says to say the equivalent of "Call, please, Julju" for example.  In English this sounds very rough though.

Thank you!


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## Kanes

*Hello *=_ Ало_
*Can I speak with* = Може ли да говоря с
*Is (name) there?* = (name) там ли е?
*Is (name) home? = *(name) в къщи ли е?
*When will he/she be home?* = Кога ще е в къщи?
*Please tell him/her that (name) have called* = Кажете му/и че (name) се е обадил/а

Bulgarian


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## TriglavNationalPark

*Slovenian:*

Hello = *Halo *or *prosim* (the latter is somewhat more polite)
May I speak to...? = *Lahko govorim s/z...? *
Is [[name]] there? = *Je tam [[name]]?*
Is [[name]] home? = *Je [[name]] doma? *
When will he/he get home? = *Kdaj bo prišel/prišla domov?*
When will he/she be home? = *Kdaj bo doma?*
Please tell him/her that [[name]] called = *Prosim, sporočite* (or *povejte*)* mu/ji, da ga/jo je klical/klicala [[name]].*


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## Thomas1

Hi, 

Here are Polish sentences you can hear:
*Hello *=_ Halo/(Tak) słucham_
*Can I speak with* = Mógłbym rozmawiać z... ? Można prosić ...?
*Is (name) there?* =Jest ...?
*Is (name) home? = *Zastałem... (name in the Acusative)?/Jest...?
*When will he/she be home?* = O której/Kiedy będzie...?
*Please tell him/her that (name) have called* = Proszę mu/jej przekazać że dzwonił(a) ...

Tom


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## nexy

Here you have some Serbian expressions:

*Hello *=_ Хало_
*Can I speak with* = Могу ли добити (name in the accusative)/могу ли да разговарам са (name in the instrumental)
*Is (name) there?* = Да ли је (name) ту?
*Is (name) home? = *Да ли је (name) код куће?
*When will he/she be home?* = Када ће он/она бити код куће?
*Please tell him/her that (name) have called* = Молим вас, реците му/јој да је (name) звао/ла.
*Тell him/her I called* = Реците му/јој да сам звао/ла.


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## Azori

In Slovak

*Hello! *Prosím./Ano.
*May I please speak to ...(person's name)... *Môžem prosím hovoriť s...(meno)..
*Is ...(person's name)... there? *Je tam...(meno)?
*Is ...(person's name)... home? *Je ...(meno)... doma?
*Please tell him / her that ...(caller's name)... called.*  Prosím povedz/povedzte mu/jej že ...(meno)... volal/volala.
*When will he / she be home? *Kedy bude doma?


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## TriglavNationalPark

TriglavNationalPark said:


> *Slovenian:*
> 
> Hello = Halo or *prosim* (the latter is somewhat more polite)
> May I speak to...? = Lahko govorim s/z...?
> Is [[name]] there? = *Je tam [[name]]?*
> Is [[name]] home? = *Je [[name]] doma?*
> When will he/he get home? = Kdaj bo prišel/prišla domov?
> When will he/she be home? = *Kdaj bo doma?*
> Please tell him/her that [[name]] called = *Prosim, sporočite (or povejte) mu/ji, da ga/jo je klical/klicala [[name]].*


 


lior neith said:


> In *Slovak*
> 
> Hello! *Prosím*./Ano.
> May I please speak to ...(person's name)... Môžem prosím hovoriť s...(meno)..
> Is ...(person's name)... there? *Je tam...(meno)?*
> Is ...(person's name)... home? *Je ...(meno)... doma?*
> Please tell him / her that ...(caller's name)... called. *Prosím povedz/povedzte mu/jej že ...(meno)... volal/volala*.
> When will he / she be home? *Kedy bude doma?*


 
(my emphasis)

As someone recently mentioned, the genereral similarity between Slovak and Slovenian is pretty remarkable, especially considering that the two languages belong to different Slavic subgroups. This is good proof that the South Slavic and the West Slavic groups were once adjacent to each other (with a dialectical continuum between the two).


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## robin74

Thomas1 said:


> *Is (name) home? = *Zastałem... (name in the Genitive)?


It should be in Accusative, hm?


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## DarkChild

Kanes said:


> *Hello *=_ Ало_
> *Can I speak with* = Може ли да говоря с
> *Is (name) there?* = (name) там ли е?
> *Is (name) home? = *(name) в къщи ли е?
> *When will he/she be home?* = Кога ще е в къщи?
> *Please tell him/her that (name) have called* = Кажете му/и че (name) се е обадил/а
> 
> Bulgarian


 The following are also very much used
*Hello *=_ Моля or Да, моля_
*Can I speak with* = Name може ли да се обади?
*Please tell him/her that (name) have called* = Предайте му/й, че (name) се е обадил/а


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## Thomas1

TriglavNationalPark said:


> (my emphasis)
> 
> As someone recently mentioned, the genereral similarity between Slovak and Slovenian is pretty remarkable, especially considering that the two languages belong to different Slavic subgroups. This is good proof that the South Slavic and the West Slavic groups were once adjacent to each other (with a dialectical continuum between the two).


Speaking of that we also use in Polish proszę quite frequently. 



robin74 said:


> It should be in Accusative, hm?


Right you are Robin, thank you.  I have corrected this.

Tom


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## TriglavNationalPark

Thomas1 said:


> Speaking of that we also use in Polish proszę quite frequently.


 
True, but I was struck by a number of other similarities between Slovenian and Slovak apparent in this case: *povedati/povedat'*, *Je tam...?* (the same in both languages), *Je...doma?* (same again). If someone could provide the Czech translations, it would certainly be interesting to compare them. The same goes for Kajkavian Croatian, which I also expect to be similar.


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## winpoj

Here you are:

Hello! Prosím/Ano/Haló
May I please speak to ...(person's name)... Mohu/můžu prosím mluvit/hovořit s...(jméno)..
Is ...(person's name)... there? Je tam...(jméno)?
Is ...(person's name)... home? Je ...(jméno)... doma?
Please tell him / her that ...(caller's name)... called. Prosím řekněte/povězte mu/jí, že volal/volala (jméno).
When will he / she be home? Kdy bude doma?


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## TriglavNationalPark

Thanks, winipoj!


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## Mišo

TriglavNationalPark said:


> (my emphasis)
> 
> As someone recently mentioned, the genereral similarity between Slovak and Slovenian is pretty remarkable, especially considering that the two languages belong to different Slavic subgroups. This is good proof that the South Slavic and the West Slavic groups were once adjacent to each other (with a dialectical continuum between the two).





TriglavNationalPark said:


> True, but I was struck by a number of other similarities between Slovenian and Slovak apparent in this case: *povedati/povedat'*, *Je tam...?* (the same in both languages), *Je...doma?* (same again).



Our nations really consolidate northern and southern slavic group. It is evincible by ethnological studies besides. For all that we share adapted initial tribal name.


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## Natabka

Hi, everyone!
What a curious thread! Hm, Matthew, I guess almost all "Slavic" ways of beginning a telephone conversation may sound a bit rough if not rude to an English speaker! I heard Spaniards mentioning this "rudness" too (referring to "Слухаю!" in Ukrainian). I don't know, I don't feel it to be this way. Though there's one strange thing (habit?) in Ukrainian telephone conversations: very often people don't name themselves at the beggining of a conversation, especially when they want to speak with somebody else, not with the person who picked up the phone. The other day a lady phoned and heard my voice and probably thought, she had dialed a wrong number, and started speaking with "Who are you?"  Sometimes you may have a nice conversation with somebody not knowing who they are.  

So, some basic telephone vocabulary:

*Hello!  - Алло!/Слухаю [Вас] (I'm listening)/Говоріть (Talk! - sounds a bit weird to me)/ or if you see the number and know who's calling (a friend), you may say simply - Так?

*May I please speak to ... - Можна покликати ... до телефону./Покличте, будь ласка, ... до телефону.

*Is ...(person's name)... there / home? - Чи є ... [дома]?

*Please tell him / her that ...(caller's name)... called. - Передайте йому/їй, будь ласка, що дзвонив/-ла ... .

*When will he / she be home? - А коли він/вона буде?/Не знаєте, коли він/вона буде?/Коли можна передзвонити? (When may I phone again?)


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## musicalchef

Could someone please post the Bosnian for this?  I saw the Serbian up there, is it about the same?


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## kusurija

winpoj said:


> Here you are:
> 
> Hello! Prosím/Ano/Haló/Slyším( this is somewhat unpolite and ironic! It was used rarely in socialistic era)
> May I please speak to ...(person's name)... Mohu/můžu prosím mluvit/hovořit s...(jméno)..
> Is ...(person's name)... there? Je tam...(jméno)?
> Is ...(person's name)... home? Je ...(jméno)... doma?
> Please tell him / her that ...(caller's name)... called. Prosím řekněte/povězte/vyřiďte mu/jí, že volal/volala (jméno).
> When will he / she be home? Kdy bude doma?/Kdy bude k dosažení/dostižení?


I only added some alternatives, which weren't necessary to be added.


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## winpoj

1) Slyším - nothing ironical about that in my view; it's extremely rare. I can imagine hearing it in the military.

2) Kdy bude k dosažení/dostižení? - No, this is not a correct translation for "When will he be home?". One may be "k dostižení" in the office, workshop, pub, etc.


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## mateo19

Hello Natalka!

Thank you so much for providing us with the Ukrainian forms!  I hope that I will have the occasion to use them soon in a phone call to Ukraine!   I do have some questions and comments about your post.  I am insatiable when it comes to linguistics, you know!

Your story about the woman who called your house made me laugh.  It is unthinkable to me that someone would call my house and then ask me to identify myself before he did!  In the United States the caller has the responsibility of identifying himself first.  Otherwise, it seems _very_ rude to me, and I would be liable to simply hang up the phone.



Natabka said:


> Though there's one strange thing (habit?) in Ukrainian telephone conversations: very often people don't name themselves at the beggining of a conversation, especially when they want to speak with somebody else, not with the person who picked up the phone. The other day a lady phoned and heard my voice and probably thought, she had dialed a wrong number, and started speaking with "Who are you?"  Sometimes you may have a nice conversation with somebody not knowing who they are.



The verb покликати, "to call/summon someone (to come pick up the phone, in this context)" predictably takes the accusative case, right?

So, "Можна покликати Марію, Наталю, Ивана, Петра... до телефону".



Natabka said:


> *May I please speak to ... - Можна покликати ... до телефону./Покличте, будь ласка, ... до телефону.



Two quick comments:

My text book says that when making an official phone call, it is customary to introduce oneself by saying, "Вас турбує такий-то/така-то", "So-and-so is troubling/disturbing you".

In the dialogues in my text book, it gives "дзвонити" as "to phone".  My oh my, what complex phonotactics!  I mean, talk about a complex syllabic onset!  What about the verb "телефонувати" as "to phone"?  Could it please possibly be more common than "дзвонити"?


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## Natabka

mateo19 said:


> The verb покликати, "to call/summon someone (to come pick up the phone, in this context)" predictably takes the accusative case, right?
> 
> So, "Можна покликати Марію, Наталю, Івана, Петра... до телефону".



Right!



mateo19 said:


> Two quick comments:
> 
> My text book says that when making an official phone call, it is customary to introduce oneself by saying, "Вас турбує такий-то/така-то", "So-and-so is troubling/disturbing you".
> 
> In the dialogues in my text book, it gives "дзвонити" as "to phone".  My oh my, what complex phonotactics!  I mean, talk about a complex syllabic onset!  What about the verb "телефонувати" as "to phone"?  Could it please possibly be more common than "дзвонити"?



Yes, you can use "Вас турбує [name-surname]" after you've said "Good morning/eveing/etc." But it is very formal indeed and I would use it only when making a call to some organisation, to the person that occupies a particular position or whom I don't know very well or haven't met in person but have a request to them, something like that.

Nah  Телефонувати is not so frequently used and is not more common as дзвонити. Who would use it - it's longer! As for pronunciation of "дзвонити".. I suppose it might be difficult, [дз] should be pronuonced as one sound (like [дж]). Mateo, do you pronounce it as one or try to say three consonants separately?


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## mateo19

Does anyone know the Russian versions?  Thanks!  Спасибо!


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## Ptak

mateo19 said:


> *Hello! (I have noticed that sometimes this word is different from the regular word for "hello".)


*Алло*! (often pronounced as Алё)
*Да*?
*Слушаю* (very formal)
*У аппарата* (old-fashioned and not used actually, but sounds funny... )



> *May I please speak to ...(person's name)...
> OR
> *Is ...(person's name)... there / home?


There are a lot of variants. The most common and simple is, I think:
*Можно...* [+name in the accusative case] (_Можно Ваню? Можно Машу?_ etc)
Also:
_Можно попросить Машу к телефону?_
_Можно поговорить с Машей / Можно с Машей поговорить?_
_(А) Машу попросите, (пожалуйста) -- a bit formal_
_(А) Машу можно услышать?_



> *Please tell him / her that ...(caller's name)... called.


_Передайте ему/ей, пожалуйста, что звонил [caller's name]_
_Вы не могли бы ему/ей передать, что звонил [caller's name]?_



> *When will he / she be home?


_А когда он/она будет?_
(this sentence doesn't refer only to home, but actually to the place where you are calling to).


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## Heroj_MKD

In Macedonian:

Hello = Ало 
Мay I speak to... = дали ќе можам да разговарам/зборувам со .... ?
Is ... there? = ... таму е?
Is ... at home?= ... дома е?
When .... will be back at home? = А кога ќе се врати .... дома?
Please tell him/her that (name) have called = Кажете му/и дека .... го/ја бараше.


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## WannaBeMe

mateo19 said:


> Hello everyone!
> 
> I was wondering how Slavic peoples speak when they use the phone.  I would be very interested in knowing the following things (if it is not too much, but it is some basic telephone vocabulary).
> 
> *Hello  (I have noticed that sometimes this word is different from the regular word for "hello".)
> 
> *May I please speak to ...(person's name)...
> OR
> *Is ...(person's name)... there / home?
> 
> *Please tell him / her that ...(caller's name)... called.
> 
> *When will he / she be home?
> 
> I am not looking for literal translations of these phrases.  I am interested in knowing the equivalents of these phrases in your languages.  For example, I called a Russian friend in Saint Petersburg the other day and my tourist book says to say the equivalent of "Call, please, Julju" for example.  In English this sounds very rough though.
> 
> Thank you!



You want Bosnian, ok. It's the same as Serbian but I can give you some more examples of colloquial speech. I take tha name Marko as example.

*Hello* - Halo, Alo /Molim, Da
M*ay I please speak to* - Mogu li govoriti/da govorim sa Markom?
                              - Mogu li dobiti Marka?
                              - Bi´l mog´o dobit´ Marka? (colloquial)

*Is ...(person's name)... there / home?*- Je li Marko tu / kući/ kod kuće?
                                                  - Ima li ( or ima´l Marka?)

*Please tell him / her that ...(caller's name)... called.*- Molim te/vas recite/kažite  mu/ joj da je (callers name)  zvao. 

                                                   -colloquial- Ej reci/ kaži mu/joj da sam ga tražio/ trebo nešto.

*When will he / she be home? *- Kada će biti kući- Kada dolazi.- Kada će se vratiti/ vrnuti.


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## phosphore

wannabeme said:


> - bi´l mog´o dobit´ marka?


 

 In Belgrade that would be "mogu dobijem Marka?" or "mogu Marka da dobijem?"


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## musicalchef

Hvala, WannaBeMe!


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## mcibor

phosphore said:


> In Belgrade that would be "mogu dobijem Marka?" or "mogu Marka da dobijem?"



Hehe, another false friend with Polish - Mogu dobijem Marka (Mogę dobić Marka) means in Polish "Can I KO Marek - finish him off, when he's already lying on the floor " 

In Polish for 
*Is Marek there/home* you can also say - Czy zastałem Marka? / Czy Marek jest w domu?


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## mateo19

Hello Ptak,

I just have a question about _Можно.  _I am guessing that the first "o" is stressed, so the second "o" sounds like an "a", right?  So, if I want to ask for Julia, it would sound like this?:

[možna juliju]

On another note, I am so happy to see Macedonian and Bosnian in this post!


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## Ptak

mateo19 said:


> Hello Ptak,
> 
> I just have a question about _Можно. _I am guessing that the first "o" is stressed, so the second "o" sounds like an "a", right? So, if I want to ask for Julia, it would sound like this?:
> 
> [možna juliju]


Yes, you are right. Only remember that it's not "a" exactly, it's "schwa" (like "o" in "concern").


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