English Translation
When I was a child, I would often call on him on Sunday.
Shouldn’t this be ‘often visit him’ rather than ‘often call him’?
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“Call ON” is an old-fashioned/obsolete/archaic way to say “visit”. It went out of common use 60-70 years ago.
The expression “house call” for an in-person medical visit at a patient’s home (“This doctor makes house calls”)—which originally came from this usage where we used to say “the doctor called on the patient”—is still in use today.
Also, if you ever read Victorian-era novels, the phrase “gentleman caller” is used all over the place for male suitors visiting a Woman as part of the courtship process. Same origin.
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I have never come across ‘gentleman caller’. I initially thought it was just another UK/US difference. When I lived in the UK 30 years ago it was common to say ‘I will give you a ring’ instead of ‘I will give you a call’. On the other hand we have this from Go West, a most excellent 80s band from England.
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I have never come across ‘gentleman caller’
I’ve only seen “gentleman caller” in literature from a certain period, centered around what I guess would have been the Edwardian period in the UK. Still, the transition in general from callers (= people who physically showed up for a visit) to callers (on the phone) makes perfect sense to me.
What about doctors or other health professionals making “house calls”? Is that a phrase you’ve heard?
We had a mega-hit “Call Me” of our own from 1980 (might have been 1979):
I’ve heard a handful of Americans say “give me a ring”. “Give me a call”, of course, is far more common around these parts.
There’s also “give me a buzz”, which (in my experience at least) seems to be used mostly in work-related contexts.
I know some Singaporeans who say “phone me” or “I’ll phone you”. They also write the noun “phone” as 'phone, including the apostrophe every time.