Italian All-in-One For Dummies by Consumer Dummies Page A

Camilla in?
    Voice: No, è appena uscita.
    noh, eh ahp- peh -nah ooh- shee -tah.
    No, she’s just gone out.
    Leo: Quando la trovo?
    kwahn -doh lah troh -voh?
    When can I find her?
    Voice: Verso le nove.
    vehr -soh leh noh -veh.
    Around nine.
    Leo: Le posso lasciare un messaggio?
    leh pohs -soh lah- shah -reh oohn mehs- sahj -joh?
    Can I leave her a message?
    Voice: Come no, dimmi.
    koh -meh noh, deem -mee.
    Of course, tell me.
    Â 
    As you can see, there are different ways for asking for people as well as for saying that they’re not in and asking whether you can leave a message. The preceding informal dialogue gives you one way of saying these things, and the dialogue that follows recasts the situation into a formal exchange.
    Talkin’ the Talk
    Mr. Marchi calls Mr. Trevi’s office to talk about an upcoming meeting. Mr. Trevi’s secretary picks up the phone. (Track 10)
    Secretary: Pronto?
    prohn -toh?
    Hello?
    Sig. Marchi: Buongiorno, sono Ennio Marchi.
    bwohn- johr -noh, soh -noh ehn -nioh mahr -kee.
    Good morning, this is Ennio Marchi.
    Secretary: Buongiorno, dica.
    bwohn- johr -noh, dee -kah.
    Good morning, can I help you?
    Sig. Marchi: Potrei parlare con il signor Trevi?
    poh- trehy pahr- lah -reh kohn eel see- nyohr treh -vee?
    Can I speak to Mr. Trevi?
    Secretary: Mi dispiace, è in riunione.
    mee dees- pyah -cheh, eh een ree-ooh- nyoh -neh.
    I’m sorry, he’s in a meeting.
    Sig. Marchi: Potrei lasciargli un messaggio?
    poh- trehy lah- shahr -lyee oohn mehs- sahj -joh?
    May I leave him a message?
    Secretary: Certo. Prego.
    chehr -toh. preh -goh.
    Of course. Go on . . .
    Â 
    Sometimes you don’t understand the name of the person you’re talking to and you have to ask for the spelling. If someone needs you to spell your name, you may hear either of the following questions:
    Come si scrive? ( koh -meh-see skree -veh?) ( How do you write it? )
    Può fare lo spelling? (pwoh fah -reh loh spelling?) ( Can you spell it? )
    Don’t worry too much about this; as long as you know the basic Italian alphabet in Book I, Chapter 1 , you’ll be able to spell your name and town to anyone!

    Discussing Your Job
    The world is getting smaller, and business contact with people in other countries is getting more common. Whether by phone, fax, or e-mail, knowing how to communicate to business colleagues around the world is becoming more and more important. If you happen to have business contacts with Italian companies, knowing some basic Italian business vocabulary may be useful.
    Italian has at least four words for company — la compagnia (lah kohm-pah- nyee -ah), la ditta (lah deet -tah) (which also means the firm ), l’azienda (lah- dzyehn -dah), and la società (lah soh-cheh- tah ). These words are virtually interchangeable.
    L’ufficio (loohf- fee -choh) is Italian for office. The following sentences give you a taste of the phrases you hear in uffici (oohf- fee -chee) ( offices ) everywhere:
    La mia scrivania è troppo piccola. (lah mee -ah skree-vah- nee -ah eh trohp -poh peek -koh-lah.) ( My desk is too small. )
    Ãˆ una grande società? (eh ooh -nah grahn -deh soh-cheh- tah? ) ( Is it a big company? )
    Lavora per una piccola agenzia. (lah- voh -rah pehr ooh -nah peek -koh-lah ah-jehn- tsee -ah.) ( He works for a small agency. )
    Mi piace il mio lavoro. (mee pyah -cheh eel mee -oh lah- voh -roh.) ( I like my job. )
    Referring to coworkers
    Even if you are libero professionista ( lee -beh-roh proh-fehs-syoh- nee -stah) ( self-employed ), chances are that your lavoro (lah- voh -roh) ( job ) puts you in contact with other people. All those people have titles and names, as the following short exchanges show:
    Il mio capo è una donna. (eel mee -oh kah -poh eh ooh -nah dohn -nah.) ( My boss is a woman. )
    Hai un’assistente personale? (ahy oohn-ahs-see- stehn -teh pehr-soh- nah -leh?) ( Do you have a personal assistant? )
    No, il nostro team ha un segretario. (noh,