Està en Pau? in Catalan
Marta calls her father at work: her phone has stopped switching on in Catalan. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Bon dia! Sóc la Marta. Està el pare? Em truca i no em respon ningú.» — Good afternoon! This is Marta. Is dad there? He called me, but nobody answers. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: marta calls her father at work: her phone has stopped switching on. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- Bon dia! Sóc la Marta. Està el pare? Em truca i no em respon ningú.Good afternoon! This is Marta. Is dad there? He called me, but nobody answers.
- Bon dia, Marta! Sí, és aquí. Un moment, que li passo la trucada.Good afternoon, Marta! Yes, he is here. One moment, I will transfer you his call.
- Pare, per fi! El meu telèfon no va: polso el botó i la pantalla es queda negra.Dad, finally! My phone does not work: I press the button and the screen stays black.
- Tranquil·la. Primer, posa'l a carregar deu minuts. Després mantén el botó premut fins que surti la marca.Calm down. First put it on charge for ten minutes. Then hold the button pressed until the logo appears.
- Fet... Ha funcionat! Demana el codi SMS i tot: sembla nou.Done… It works! It even asks for the SMS code: like new.
- De res, filla. I deixa'l cada nit a carregar a la cuina: la bateria també fa la seva edat.You are welcome, daughter. And leave it on charge in the kitchen every night: the battery grows old too.
Lines one by one
| Catalan | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Bon dia! Sóc la Marta. Està el pare? Em truca i no em respon ningú. | — | Good afternoon! This is Marta. Is dad there? He called me, but nobody answers. |
| Bon dia, Marta! Sí, és aquí. Un moment, que li passo la trucada. | — | Good afternoon, Marta! Yes, he is here. One moment, I will transfer you his call. |
| Pare, per fi! El meu telèfon no va: polso el botó i la pantalla es queda negra. | — | Dad, finally! My phone does not work: I press the button and the screen stays black. |
| Tranquil·la. Primer, posa'l a carregar deu minuts. Després mantén el botó premut fins que surti la marca. | — | Calm down. First put it on charge for ten minutes. Then hold the button pressed until the logo appears. |
| Fet... Ha funcionat! Demana el codi SMS i tot: sembla nou. | — | Done… It works! It even asks for the SMS code: like new. |
| De res, filla. I deixa'l cada nit a carregar a la cuina: la bateria també fa la seva edat. | — | You are welcome, daughter. And leave it on charge in the kitchen every night: the battery grows old too. |
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 it gets in the way badly. It is one of the most reliably measured findings in the entire field.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! Sóc la Marta. Està el pare? Em truca i no em respon ningú.” — Good afternoon! This is Marta. Is dad there? He called me, but nobody answers.. 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.