Spanish Steps - Fact file - Making a phone call

Llamar por teléfono, making a phone call, is perhaps the hardest test of your language skills.

If you're not lucky enough to have un móvil, a mobile phone, you can hunt for una cabina telefónica, public telephone box. Phones will either require monedas, coins, or una tarjeta, a phone card, available at most estancos, newsagents.

For finding numbers you can resort to several tried and tested methods - there is la guía telefónica, phone book, las páginas amarillas, the yellow pages for business numbers and las páginas blancas, white pages, for residential numbers. Alternatively you can dial información, directory enquiries.

In some cases your call may go through una centralita, a switchboard or una operadora, operator. You're then likely to hear Le pongo, or Le paso - I'm putting you through. The line may be busy - está ocupado or está comunicando. You might also be told No cuelgue - Don't hang up.

Once you pick it up, the normal way to answer the phone is Dígame, or simply Diga, literally 'Tell me' or 'Tell'. In some parts of Latin America you might simply say ¿Bueno?, literally 'Well?'.

You may get through to un contestador, an answering machine, or to un buzón de voz, a voicemail service. You'll then hear the prompt to leave a message after the tone, dejar un mensaje después de oír la señal.

Links

Telefónica - Spain's telecommunications company

Uni2 - fixed telephony services

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