Have you ever had to repeat yourself several times when giving your phone number in English?
After all, accuracy matters.
You want to make sure the other person gets the right number so they can actually reach you.
How we say phone numbers varies from culture to culture and country to country.
When I moved to Argentina, one of the first things I learned was how to give my phone
number so that people would understand it.
I remember being so surprised: in the US, we pronounce the digits of your phone number individually.
In Argentina, they use compound numbers, like twenty-three and forty-six.
Take a moment and think about how you say phone numbers in your country.
How many digits are in your cell phone number?
How do you break the numbers up in order to help people process and remember the number?
It's a little more complicated than you would initially think, which is why it's one of
the first things I teach newcomers to the US.
Today you'll learn how to say American and Canadian phone numbers
with correct stress and intonation.
This is also an introduction to chunking or breaking your words into digestible thought groups.
And just a note, I have no idea how they say phone numbers in other English speaking countries,
so if you live in the UK, in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, or any other English
speaking country, leave a comment and let me know.
First things first, let's talk about the basics of phone numbers.
In the US and Canada, phone numbers are 10 digits long.
When calling internationally, we add the number one to the beginning.
The first three numbers are the area code, which identifies the state or province.
Smaller states like Rhode Island have just one area code, whereas bigger states or highly
populated states, like New York or California, might have dozens.
The second set of three numbers is the local exchange, which identifies your region.
The last four numbers identify your telephone line.
We write phone numbers like this, or like this.
This helps you see where we pause in order to break the phone number into smaller, more
manageable chunks.
So now let's talk about how to say phone numbers.
As I mentioned a moment ago, we say each number individually.
Most people will say "oh" instead of zero, probably because it's faster.
The only numbers I can think of that we say differently are 800 numbers, which are toll
free numbers.
Those are numbers that were free to call before we had cell phones.
When saying phone numbers, we break them into four chunks: the area code, the local exchange,
the next two numbers, and the final two numbers.
We stress the last number in each chunk.
To separate the chunks of numbers, we use holding intonation, or non-final intonation,
and pause slightly after the first two sets of numbers.
This holding intonation signals that there's more to come and we haven't finished the number yet.
We use rising intonation after the third chunk, and then falling intonation after the final
two numbers in order to signal that the phone number is complete.
Using stress and intonation in this way creates a sing-song-y, easy-to-follow rhythm and melody
that helps the other person write down the number or remember it.
Let's practice with some examples.
Take a look at this number here.
Identify which numbers you should stress, where you should pause, and how you would
use intonation in order to make this number easy to understand.
Remember that you can hit pause at any time on this video in order to figure it out for yourself.
Here's how to say this number: seven oh three, four one seven, one three, one five.
Once again, that's seven oh three, four one seven, one three, one five.
Let's try it again: seven oh three, four one seven, one three, one five.
Let's try it one more time.
seven oh three, four one seven, one three, one five.
As you can hear, I'm gliding down to the end on that last number, creating falling intonation
on the number five.
Let's try another example.
Think about how to stress, pause, and use intonation on this number.
Ready?
Let's go!
Two one two, five oh six, four three, two one.
One more time: Two one two, five oh six, four three, two one.
Are you starting to hear the sing-song-y rhythm and melody when we say these phone numbers?
Here's another example.
Once again, think about which numbers you'll stress, where to pause, and how to use intonation
to make this number easy to understand.
Here's how to say it.
Six one nine, seven five four, three two, one one.
One more time.
Six one nine, seven five four, three two, one one.
Once again, you can hear that I'm gliding down to the end on that final number.
Here's a toll free number.
Think about which numbers to stress, where to pause, and how to use intonation to make
it easy to follow.
Eight hundred, five four four, seven three, four five.
Once again, that's eight hundred, five four four, seven three, four five.
You may hear older generations add a one to that number.
One eight hundred, five four four, seven three, four five.
Are you starting to get more comfortable with the rhythm and melody of these numbers?
Let's try one more example.
Take a look at this number, identify which numbers to stress, where to pause, and how
to use intonation.
Ready?
Seven oh two, three two seven, eight four, six two.
As you practice with these examples, I hope you understood how the stress, pausing, and
intonation made it easy to understand the number.
It makes it a little easier to remember and easier to write down quickly.
Of course, you will notice that each individual person has their own style for saying phone
numbers, but you will be able to identify that they stress the last number in each chunk,
they pause slightly between each thought group, and that they use intonation in order to distinguish
between the sets of numbers.
Listen for this pattern in how other people say numbers as well.
Make a list of important phone numbers like your cell phone number, your home phone if
you have one, your work phone if you have one, and any number, you may need to give
quickly in an emergency.
Practice saying these phone numbers out loud with the right chunks, stress and intonation.
I hope this has made it a little bit easier for people to understand you when you're saying
these numbers.
Even if you don't usually have to say American or Canadian phone numbers, I hope this has
shown you how essential it is to break your ideas into more manageable chunks or thought groups.
This is just a sample of what I teach inside my accent reduction programs on stress and
intonation.
I've included links to all these resources in the description below the video.
Once again, I'm Kim from englishwithkim.com.
I'm your guide to the essential communication skills you need to sound more natural in English.
If you like this video, please give it a thumbs up and share it with a friend.
Don't forget to hit subscribe so you don't miss any of my videos.
Have a good one.
Goodbye.