Answering a phone call

Michele L.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Answering a phone call

This is a phone call, correct?  Why was my word Allo (with accent on the A)marked incorrect in the first line?

Asked 5 months ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi Michele et al.,

I think that here, when you know the person you are talking to you wouldn't say 'allô' but something like the equivalent to Hiya!. given. However, after further discussion, we decided to add it as a possible alternative.

 If you ring a company you will use Allô -

Allô, je voudrais parler à M. Dupont s'il vous plaît Hello, I'd like to speak to Mr. Dupont please

 

And if you are receiving a phone call from an unknown number you will say 'Allô'

 

As for the punctuation ( not my forte!) I'll look into it and come back to you.

Bonne Continuation !

 

 

CélineNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Bonjour à tous,

About the punctuation after "Bonjour/etc", Lisa has already answered and said "Hello!" (this is not featured in the exercise). Also, Frank is responding in an emphatic way. He has no doubt who he's talking to. Therefore, there's an exclamation mark as well.

I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée !

Maarten K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

 Michele, 

Was it ‘ not accepted ‘ at all, or not accepted as the spelling was incorrect with an accent mark of any sort on the ‘ a ‘ ?

There is no accent on the a, but a circonflexe on the o is optional - allô or allo ( not used in reformed spelling ). 

https://www.wordreference.com/fren/allo

 https://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/all%C3%B4/2391

Ann B.C1Kwiziq community member
I wrote "Allo" with a circumflex on the "o" and it was not given as an alternative answer for "Hello".
Maarten K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Anne and Michele

Given it clearly represents a quick informal call I would agree it should be accepted. 

Maybe it was the intention to have ‘ Bonjour ‘ practice at A1 or just an oversight ?

Alan G.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Isn't "Allo" something you would say when answering the phone? In this case Franck (who is talking) is calling Lisa. I'm not sure it works as a translation for "Hello Lisa!"

Maarten K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Alan, 

mostly, but not always between family/friends, possibly more so now with caller identity available. 

I certainly hear native speakers begin with ‘ Allo ‘ in such situations. If only ‘ bonjour ‘ is wanted a hint to use formal, polite introduction would be reasonable.

Never heard it in formal phone calls, not even from the younger generations. 

wordreference : https://www.wordreference.com/fren/all%C3%B4

Alan G.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

If it had been "Hello, Lisa?", like the example in wordreference, then I would agree, but the punctuation is relevant.

Maarten K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Alan, 

disagree.

Personally I think the exclamation mark is misplaced here in the original English script, and I put no weight on its meaning in translation, especially knowing that it has been put there by a native French speaker used to using the exclamation mark significantly more than average in English. I am not trying to learn how to translate what the team puts here, but how to express myself in French in varying situations.

I have heard ‘ Bonjour ‘ , ‘ salut ‘ , ‘ coucou ‘ and ‘ allo ‘ used in French by native speakers to start an informal conversation/call such as this - all of which could replace ‘ hello ‘ in English. If it is good enough for some native French speakers in my circle, it is good enough for me. 

Alan G.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

It wasn't the exclamation mark that I thought significant, but the lack of a comma or a question mark. However, if you've heard people saying this in a similar context (i.e. the person calling, and without using a questioning tone on the name) then I guess it's a valid option, but perhaps an anglicism.

Maarten K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Alan,

Quite possible. There seems to be an increase in anglicisms generally, in everyday speech particularly, but also on radio.

Answering a phone call

This is a phone call, correct?  Why was my word Allo (with accent on the A)marked incorrect in the first line?

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