On the phone, amid noise in Valencian
Asking again on the phone in a noisy place in Valencian. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Bon dia. Té un moment? Trucava pel tema de la reserva de dissabte.» — Good day. Do you have a moment? I am calling about the booking for Saturday. 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: asking again on the phone in a noisy place. 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. Té un moment? Trucava pel tema de la reserva de dissabte.Good day. Do you have a moment? I am calling about the booking for Saturday.
- Perdó, què ha dit? Em temo que no ho he sentit bé: hi ha molt de soroll ací.Sorry, what did you say? I am afraid I did not catch that: it is very noisy here.
- Que si la sala per a dissabte a les set encara està lliure.Whether the hall for Saturday at seven is still free.
- Ara ho entenc. Sí: taula per a sis, a les set. Alguna cosa més?Now I understand. Yes: a table for six, at seven. Anything else?
- Sí: em podria escriure l'adreça? Com s'escriu el nom del carrer?Yes: could you write down the address? How is the street name spelled?
- Res més fàcil: l'adreça, lletra per lletra, si us plau. Fins a la propera!Nothing easier: the address, letter by letter, please. Until next time!
Lines one by one
| Valencian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Bon dia. Té un moment? Trucava pel tema de la reserva de dissabte. | — | Good day. Do you have a moment? I am calling about the booking for Saturday. |
| Perdó, què ha dit? Em temo que no ho he sentit bé: hi ha molt de soroll ací. | — | Sorry, what did you say? I am afraid I did not catch that: it is very noisy here. |
| Que si la sala per a dissabte a les set encara està lliure. | — | Whether the hall for Saturday at seven is still free. |
| Ara ho entenc. Sí: taula per a sis, a les set. Alguna cosa més? | — | Now I understand. Yes: a table for six, at seven. Anything else? |
| Sí: em podria escriure l'adreça? Com s'escriu el nom del carrer? | — | Yes: could you write down the address? How is the street name spelled? |
| Res més fàcil: l'adreça, lletra per lletra, si us plau. Fins a la propera! | — | Nothing easier: the address, letter by letter, please. Until next time! |
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 Valencian in this situation?
“Bon dia. Té un moment? Trucava pel tema de la reserva de dissabte.” — Good day. Do you have a moment? I am calling about the booking for Saturday.. 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.