Meaning of と in this sentence from BKB Lesson 9

Question

I'm unsure on what the と in this sentence means:

山田さんと電話で話します。

I'm pretty sure it doesn't mean ''and'' like it usually does so I just wanted to know.

Answer 1

とcan have a number of meanings depending on how it is used. In this particular context it corresponds with English "to" or "with" as in:

I will call Mr. Yamada on the phone

or

I will speak to Mr. Yamada on the phone.

Your impression that と means "and" is correct. You could analyze a sentence like

A と B と

as "with A, with B" and perhaps you might see how it is that such a construct is better translated as "A and B".