This document provides information about making telephone calls in Germany. It includes the German alphabet sung to the tune of the ABC song, as well as the phonetic alphabet used over the phone. It discusses cultural differences like answering the phone by stating your last name. Common telephone vocabulary and phrases are presented, such as asking someone to spell their name or saying the line is engaged. The goal is to help English speakers feel comfortable making and receiving calls in Germany.
2. Objectives
 To be able to spell using the German alphabet
and the German phonetic alphabet
 To be aware of cultural differences when
making telephone calls in Germany
 To be able to use common ‘telephone’
vocabulary
3. Das Alphabet
A B C D E F G
ah bay tsay day ay egg gay
H I J K L M N
hah ee yot kah ell emm enn
O P Q R S T U
oh pay coo air ess tay ooh
V W X Y Z
faw vay iks ipsilon zet
4. Das Alphabet Lied
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEaQVdCwh
sI
 abcdefg
 hijklmnop
 qrstuvw
 x y z, ok!
 fertig ist das ABC!
7. Buchstabieren wir – let’s spell!
 Quiz, quiz, trade: Names
Wie heisst du?
Ich heisse______
Wie schreibt man
das?
......
 Listen CAREFULLY to the sounds so that you
can reproduce them accurately!
8. Anrufen in Deutschland
 Answer the phone with your name (surname).
 If you are calling, this is what the other person
will do, it isn’t rude not to say hello first!
 They will expect you to give your name too,
before you do anything else!
 Hallo,
hier ist Nic Hirsch / Frau Hirsch / Nic
(depending on who you are calling!)
 Especially when calling someone you don’t
know, be ready to give your name (and spell it)
and phone number (say the digits in pairs).
9. Herrn / Frau ... , bitte. Mr / Mrs ... please
Ich möchte gern Herrn / Frau . . .
I’d like to speak to Mr/Mrs...
sprechen
One moment please, I’ll put you
Einen Moment bitte, ich verbinde
through
Am Apparat Speaking
Hier ist... This is...
Er /sie ist im Moment nicht hier He/she isn’t here at the moment
Er / sie ist in einer Bescprechung He/she is in a meeting
Kann er/sie Sie zurückrufen? Can he/she call you back?
Geben Sie mir bitte Ihre
Give me your phone number please
Telefonnummer
Ich richte aus, dass Sie angerufen
I’ll tell him/her you called
haben
Die Leitung ist besetzt The line is engaged
Können Sie später noch einmal
Could you call back later?
anrufen?
Können Sie bitte langsamer
Could you speak slower please?
sprechen?
11. Wir rufen an!
Can I speak to Frau Schmidt?
Can I speak to Frau Krüger?
Hold on I’ll connect you
She is in a meeting, can she call
The line is engaged, can you call
you back?
back later?
Does she have your number?
No, it’s 03 67 97 54 33
Hello, could I speak to Frau
I’d like a room please Niedmann
Yes of course, what is your name? She isn’t here at the moment,
(name) could you call back later please?
how do you spell that please? I will tell her you called. What is
(spell) your name?
(name + spelling)