This vs. that

[Haihao]

Hi,

I understand that 'this' refers to 'here' and 'now' whereas 'that' to 'there' and 'then'. However, when over telephone or interphone something like 'who is this?' is accepted. Could you tell me what the spirit is for this 'this' instead of 'that'?

Thank you.

haihao

[Jamie (K)]

This can vary depending on where you live. In the United States we generally ask the person on the other end of the phone, "Who is this?" or, "Who is speaking?" Our feeling is that we are somehow close to the person we are talking to, so it is polite to say "this".

If you look in some ESL books from the UK, or listen to some people from Britain or Australia, you will find people saying, "Who's that?" to the person on the other end of the phone line. I don't know why, but I suppose that their idea is that the other person is far away from them, so they use "that".

If an American said, "Who's that?" while speaking on the telephone, it would sound as if he were ignoring the caller and asking some third person who is in the room with him to identify the caller. It's almost like a message to the caller that he or she is far away and that the person picking up the phone doesn't care about him.

So I think you can say, "Who is that?" to someone who phones you in the UK or Australia, but it would be very impolite in North America, where you must say, "Who is this?"