LingoflyFirst day at work in Catalan
Meeting a colleague in Catalan. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Bon dia! Ets el programador nou?» — Good afternoon! Are you the new programmer?; «Sí, soc en Pau. Tu ets la companya de comptes?» — Yes, I am Pau. Are you the colleague from accounting? Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: meeting a colleague. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Good afternoon! Are you the new programmer?
- Exactly, Marta. Your desk is there, by the window.
- Thank you. What time is the meeting?
Lines one by one
| Catalan | Translation |
|---|---|
| Bon dia! Ets el programador nou? | Good afternoon! Are you the new programmer? |
| Sí, soc en Pau. Tu ets la companya de comptes? | Yes, I am Pau. Are you the colleague from accounting? |
| Exacte, la Marta. La teva taula és allà, a prop de la finestra. | Exactly, Marta. Your desk is there, by the window. |
| Gràcies. A quina hora és la reunió? | Thank you. What time is the meeting? |
| A les deu. Si tens dubtes, pregunta: som aquí per ajudar. | At ten. If you have questions, ask: we are here to help. |
| Molt amable. Ens veiem a la reunió! | Very kind. See you at the meeting! |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Catalan in this situation?
“Bon dia! Ets el programador nou?” — Good afternoon! Are you the new programmer? The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.