Monday, September 5, 2016

Hello, Welcome, Goodbye. What’s in a Greeting?

Hello, Welcome, Goodbye.  What’s in a Greeting? 
Greetings are spices of good relationships that bind humanity and the whole world. Greetings are universal and they come in a rich variety of expressions, verbal and non-verbal, personal and collective, traditional and contemporary with social media.   
   
Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class Monday to Friday
Simply, not a good day for the two.

Hello ….contracted to Hi! Or the formal way, How do you do?

And you get either OK lang … or equally in a formal way, I’m fine, thank you.

Well, it depends where you are and who you are.

• Filipino - Mabuhay! There is more to it than just Hello. It is full of life. It could be Kumusta ka? Which literally means How are you?


• A fine morning to you, says the Arabs on meeting you their unique syllabication.


• In Egypt they greet you, How do you perspire? Egypt is at the northern edge of the Sahara, and imagine how people work under the sun on the fertile delta of the Nile.


• God grant you His Blessings, the Turk says with much gravity.


• Have you had your rice? This is how the Chinese greets you, rice not only a staple crop but “a way of life.”


• How are you getting on? Besides personal greeting, the Greeks are keen in business.


• How goes it? Says the German casually.


• Be well! Russians say it in salutation.


• How can you? Swedes have this unique greeting, but they really mean “Are you in good vigor?”


• The Spaniards say, “How are you passing it?” indeed a benevolent way of saying share your grace.


• In my native tongue Ilocano, greetings may come as Good Morning (Naimbag nga bigat ) or Good Afternoon (Naimbag nga malem,), usually accompanied by Apo, Tata, Nana, Manong, Manang, Lelo, Apong – all in deference to age, position or relations. Or yo, (Naimbag nga bigatyo, which is addressing the person with courtesy, instead of Naimbag nga bigatmo, which is informal and personal. Imploring the Almighty is casual in saying Thank you (Dios ti agngina – God is precious), and in Goodbye (Dios ti agbati – May God stays with you, or Dios ti kumuyog – May God go with you, depending on who is staying or leaving.)


• It is the act of bowing that is the universal mark of respect, and this is done by bending. The bow is often accompanied with verbal and non-verbal greetings, such as folding of the hands, waving, and thumbs up.


Of course the universal greeting is smile. ~

• Handshake, while it is universally an act of expressing friendship or acquaintance, has rules and customs to follow. Traditionally it is the woman who offers her hand, not the man. Handshake with the right hand, with the exception of boys scout and certain fraternities. Some do the informal way of grabbing the thumb instead of the palm, or holding the forearm instead, followed by a hug or tap of the back.

When greeting a person or returning a greeting be aware of his or her facial expression - and be conscious of your own.  After all, facial expressions are spontaneous non-verbal greetings,

Make one happy with your greetings. Make friends. Recognize. Perk up low feelings - just be cautious. Brighten the day, bring in the sun. Greeting is an expression of good grooming. 

Here are illustrations
  Facial expressions showing emotions.  

How to say ‘Hello’ in 20 Languages

This diverse and widespread language group includes most European languages as well as some from further East. 
1. BONJOUR – French
2. HOLA – Spanish
3. HALLO / GUTEN TAG – German
4. CIAO – Italian
5. OLÀ – Portuguese
6. NAMASTE – Hindi
7. SALAAM – Persian (Farsi)
8. ZDRAS-TVUY-TE – Russian
9. OHAYO / KONNICHIWA / KONBAN WA- Japanese
10. AHN-YOUNG-HA-SE-YO – Korean
11. MERHABA – Turkish
12. SAIN BAINUU- Mongolian
13. SALEMETSIZ BE? – Kazakh
14. SZIA – Hungarian
15. MARHABA – Arabic
16. SANNU / SALAMA ALEIKUM – Hausa
17. JAMBO / HABARI – Swahili
18. NI HAU – Mandarin
19. NAY HOH – Cantonese (Yue)
20. HALO – Bahasa Indonesia

Boy scouts' greeting 

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