Alo?..Aloooo? Alooooooooooo? Masr?

Telephone dialogues can be a royal pain in the....neck! Moshkila el telephone da...waqt usayer 3ashan nakhod kol el ma3loumat wa nidee kol el ma3loumat. There's no time for: Eh? betoul eh? Mafeesh waqt lil tahtaha: uh...uh...yes...no...uh...uh...no speak English!
Lazem na3raf shwyiat basic English phrases when making a phone call or answering a fone call:

Making a Phone Call:

- Hello. May I speak to Mr. Sherif?(formal-- rasmy)
- Hello. Can I speak toMr. Sherif? ( a bit informal)
- Hello. Is Mr. Sherif there? (howa mawgoud?...informal)
- Hello. Is Mr. Sherif available? (Fomal ...howa mawgoud?)

Lou hat ulu 'please'....hutuha akher el gomlah, mish awel el gomlah. Hello. May I speak to Sherif, please?

Tayeb...ifrid se' Sherif da mish mawgoud wa 3ayzeen nesiblu resalah. Lou hat oul inak hat kalim tanee..dee lewahdaha resalah bardu.

Making a phone call:
- May I leave a message? or May I leave him a message?
- Can I leave a message? or Can I leave him a message?
- Can you tell him that Mrs. M called? (momken te oululu in Mrs. M kalimit)
- Can you tell him that I'll call him again tomorrow?
- Can you tell him that the meeting has been postponed till Tuesday? (el igtima3 itagil)
- Can you tell him that there has been a change of plans? I will meet him tomorrow afternoon and not tomorrow morning. (hasal tagheer)

Answering a Phone Call:

- Who's speaking please? (mish INTA MEEN!...WHO ARE YOU?..that's very informal wa mish polite).
- May I take a message?
- Can I take a message?
- Would you like to leave a message? (Formal- tihib teseeb resalah)
- Do you want to leave a message? (Informal)

Useful Telephone Phrases:

- I'm sorry, I can't hear you. The line is breaking (be ma3nah inak soutak be 3ata3 bas bil English, el khat be3ata)

- The line is busy. (el khat mashgoul) (British English also say 'the line is engaged).
- Hold on please. (lama 3ayzeen nindah 7ad ye rod...YA SHERIIIIIIIIIIIF..3ASHANAK!!)
- I'm sorry. He's not here now. or He's not in now.
- He just stepped out for a moment...(mawgoud bas mish fee maktabu)
- Can you please repeat that again? (fatak ism, 3anwan, nimrah...tanee mara 3ashan el beh!)
- Hold on, I'll connect you. (da lou 3ayez tewasal had le nimrah tanya).
- Can you please call back later? (Informal).

Useful tip:
- Lou lazem takhod resalah 3ala phone...it's useful intak te3eed kalam el speaker. ya3nee if you have to write a number repeat the numbers as you write or an address, etc...

- Fee herouf momken nitlakhbat fehom...if that happens we use a 'word' to make sure we have the right letter. Say for example your name is Hany wa wahid agnabee mish fahmak (tab3an ha yiftikir ismak honey..ya 3asal)

So, you can spell your name by saying H as in House. A as in apple...etc...
Khoususan fee herouf shabah ba3d.. S or F....E or D......M or N...

And that's your mini-lesson for today...