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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Hello and welcome to Polish Survival Phrases brought to you by PolishPod101.com, this course is designed to equip you with the language skills and knowledge to enable you to get the most out of your visit to Poland. You will be surprised at how far a little Polish will go.
Now, before we jump in, remember to stop by PolishPod101.com and there, you will find the accompanying PDF and additional info in the post. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment.

Lesson focus

While most people wouldn't or couldn't step outside without their cell phones, when visiting another country, sometimes it's a little too far for your local carrier. In recent years, you can use your cell phone when you get to Poland, but you have to pay very expensive cover charges.
So if you feel like saving your pennies, the good old ways work like a charm.
Before buying a telephone card, you probably need to find out if they have them by asking, "Are there any telephone cards?" In Polish, "Are there any telephone cards?" is Czy są karty telefoniczne? We start the phrase with czy są meaning, "are there."
Then we have karty, which means, "cards."
Finally, we have the word telefoniczne, which is an adjective and means, "telephone."
All together, we have: Czy są karty telefoniczne? "Are there any telephone cards?"
The answer to this question will be either "yes" (tak) or "no" (nie). In the case that they have the cards, you will want to ask for one of the denominations they offer.
Let's start with a ten-złoty card.
In Polish, "A ten-złoty telephone card, please" is Proszę kartę telefoniczną za dziesięć złotych.
The first word "proszę" means "please." Proszę.
This is followed by kartę telefoniczną ("telephone card").
Next, we have za ("for").
Finally, we have dziesięć złotych, which means "ten złoty."
For a twenty-złoty telephone card, you just have to change the value in this way: Proszę kartę telefoniczną za dwadzieścia złotych. "A twenty-złoty telephone card, please."
If you are looking for a payphone, you will have to ask, Gdzie jest najbliższa budka telefoniczna? This means, "Where is the closest phone booth?" The word gdzie means, "where."
Then we have "jest" ("is"). Following that is najbliższa ("the closest").
We finish this phrase with budka telefoniczna" ("phone booth").
So all together, we have Gdzie jest najbliższa budka telefoniczna? "Where is the closest phone booth?" You can also go to Survival Phrases Lesson 30 where we introduced this phrase for the first time.
Cultural Insights
In Poland, public phones don't take coins or tokens anymore; they only take phone cards. Telephone booths are easily found in all major cities. In smaller villages, the safest place to go to make a phone call using a payphone card would be the post office.
The payphone cards are called Karta telefoniczna TP and they come in three kinds: fifteen-unit, thirty-unit, and sixty-unit, and you can purchase them at newsstands, stores, post offices, and gas stations.
The more units on the card, the lower the rate for the connection.
They can be used for both local and international calls.
While in Poland, you can also purchase prepaid cards such as Telegrosik.
They will not work in payphones, though. You can only use them when calling from a cell phone or landline phone.
They range from ten-złoty to fifty-five-złoty.
They automatically deduct the cost for each call that you make from the available amount on you card.

Outro

Okay, to close out this lesson, we'd like you to practice what you've just learned. I'll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you're responsible for shouting it aloud.
You have a few seconds before I give you the answer, so powodzenia, which means “good luck” in Polish.
"Are there any telephone cards?" - Czy są karty telefoniczne?
Czy są karty telefoniczne?
Czy są karty telefoniczne?
"A ten-złoty telephone card, please." - Proszę kartę telefoniczną za dziesięć złotych.
Proszę kartę telefoniczną za dziesięć złotych.
Proszę kartę telefoniczną za dziesięć złotych.
"A twenty-złoty telephone card, please." - Proszę kartę telefoniczną za dwadzieścia złotych.
Proszę kartę telefoniczną za dwadzieścia złotych.
Proszę kartę telefoniczną za dwadzieścia złotych.
"Where is the closest phone booth?" - Gdzie jest najbliższa budka telefoniczna?
Gdzie jest najbliższa budka telefoniczna?
Gdzie jest najbliższa budka telefoniczna?
All right, that's going to do it for today. Remember to stop by PolishPod101.com and pick up the accompanying PDF. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment.

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