6.18 On the phone with an administration — Epoché
What you will be able to do Call an administration and state the purpose of the call in one sentence: j'appelle pour … . Give your file number and spell your name, and understand a request to spell it. Survive the automated menu, the hold and the transfer, and understand ne quittez pas and merci de rappeler . Deal with a bad line, and close the call politely. Sentences from this lesson, before the explanation. Read the French aloud; all of them come back below. French English Je n'ai rien à signaler pour l'instant. [1] I have nothing to report so far. Vous pouvez rester avec nous pour l'instant. [2] You can stay with us for the time being. Tapez votre mot de passe sur le clavier. [3] Type your password on the keypad. Où puis-je signaler l'accident ? [4] Where can I report the accident? Quand cela vous convient-il ? [5] When is it convenient for you? Elle ne convient pas. [6] It doesn't fit. Tapez cette lettre pour moi. [7] Type this letter for me. Prerequisites : 6.17 — this is the last conversation lesson of the phase, after 6.17 Conversation . It builds on the telephone lesson of the first phase, 6.7 Conversation , where you learned the fixed opening, holding and calling back, and on the office vocabulary of 6.10 Conversation . A call to a French administration, a tax office, the health insurance, the family benefits office, an electricity company, is a conversation of its own kind. It begins with a recorded menu, continues with music, and reaches a person who asks a fixed set of questions in a fixed order before they can help you: who you are, your file number, the reason for your call. Understanding that order is half the battle. The other half is speaking clearly in short sentences, and being ready to spell your name and give numbers the French way. Who is speaking to whom Everything is vous , in both directions. The agent, le conseiller or la conseillère , uses a polished telephone register with set phrases: je vous écoute , ne quittez pas , je vous passe le service . You can answer in a plain neutral register, but begin with bonjour and end with merci, au revoir . On the phone you cannot rely on gestures or a smile, so the formulas carry all the politeness. Calling an administration The menu. A recorded voice asks you to choose: pour …, tapez 1 , for …, press 1 . Listen for the subject words and the number. If none fits, wait or say nothing: many menus pass you to a person at the end. The file number. Every administration identifies you by a number: le numéro de dossier , le numéro fiscal , le numéro de sécurité sociale . Have it in front of you before you call. Telephone numbers are read in pairs, so 06 12 34 56 78 is zéro six, douze, trente-quatre, cinquante-six, soixante-dix-huit . Spelling. To spell, French speakers often use first names: A comme Anatole , B comme Berthe . You can use any clear word. Know the French names of the letters that differ most from English: e , i , g , j , r and w . Exchange one — getting through Je vous écoute. [8] I'm listening to you. J'appelle pour convenir d'un rendez-vous avec vous. [9] I am calling to make an appointment with you. Qui est à l'appareil, s'il vous plaît ? [10] Who's calling, please? Pouvez-vous l'épeler ? [11] Can you spell it out? Je vous écoute , literally I'm listening to you , is how agents invite you to speak. The caller's answer is the model: j'appelle pour and an infinitive, stating the purpose at once. Convenir d'un rendez-vous is a formal way to say to arrange an appointment . Pouvez-vous l'épeler ? will follow your name almost every time. Exchange two — the file Voilà mon numéro. [12] Here's my number. Veuillez patienter un instant. [13] Wait a moment, please. J'ai vu votre dossier. [14] I've seen your file. Puis-je parler à la directrice ? [15] Can I speak to the director? Elle n'est pas disponible. [16] She's not available. The number given, the agent asks you to wait while the file opens, then confirms: j'ai vu votre dossier . Asking for a particular person, puis-je parler à la directrice ? , is possible but rarely successful; the answer elle n'est pas disponible is the polite form of no . Exchange three — holding and calling back Ne quittez pas. [17] Please hold on. Un instant... [18] Just a moment ... Merci de rappeler. [19] Please call again. Allô, y a quelqu'un? [20] Hello, is anybody there? Ne quittez pas , literally do not leave , means hold the line , and it is followed by music, sometimes for a long time. Merci de rappeler , please call back , is the recorded message when all the lines are busy. Allô is mainly a telephone word, used to open a call or to check that someone is still there. Exchange four — a report, and the end of the call J'appelle pour signaler un portefeuille perdu. [21] I'm calling to report a lost wallet. J'ai vu le dossier. [22] I saw the file. Merci d'avoir appelé. [23] Thank you for calling. Au revoir ! [24] Good bye! Signaler is the verb for reporting something to an authority: a loss, a theft, a fault, a change of address. Merci d'avoir appelé , with the past infinitive of 4.22 Grammar , closes the call on the agent's side; au revoir on yours. On the telephone, French speakers say au revoir rather than salut even after an informal call with a stranger. New words Six words for calling an office. Word Meaning Notes allô fr hello (on the phone) Gender / part of speech interjection How English differs Mainly on the phone; to greet someone face to face, bonjour . Allô, le comptable est là ? [25] Hello, is the accountant there, please? ne quittez pas fr hold the line Gender / part of speech phrase How English differs Literally do not leave ; with tu , ne quitte pas . Ne quittez pas ! [26] Don't leave! épeler fr to spell (aloud) Gender / part of speech verb How English differs Spelling change: j'épelle . Spelling as a subject is l'orthographe . Peux-tu l'épeler ? [27] Can you spell it out? signaler fr to report, to point out Gender / part of speech verb How English differs To an authority; a