Is it just me, or have people stopped using “Good Afternoon” and “Good Evening” outside of formal speeches and presentations? Good morning is alive and well, considering we say it to our significant others, children, siblings, parents, etc. But what of “good afternoon, dad!” or “Good evening, mother” (even that seemed like a strange Buster Bluth moment to me.)
In an age where “hey” and “what’s up” are very much common, even in the professional workplace, our subtlety in greetings seems lost. We spend more time texting and emailing that once meeting up with someone in person, a greeting is often done with minimal effort. Especially the cro-magnon head nod that a lot of guys do.
Maybe I am an idealist, but hey, it would be nice to bring back the persuasive, enthusiastic greeting. Besides, if you don’t even greet a person with effort, what type of impression might you give without even knowing?
Expressing yourself in another language: even better! But, know the subtleties as well! Here’s a common problem in Spanish:
While “buenos dias!” is good morning,
“Buenas tardes” is good afternoon, and “buenas noches” is good evening.
They do not all begin with “buenos.” It may seem trite, and tricky, but imagine butchering a greeting in front of someone you’ve met when it really counted… not the greatest feeling.
If you need practice with these “saludos” and other aspects of Spanish, but are too embarrassed to seek help from others, the Internet is a bounty of audio recordings and practice pages that you can study alone. When you’re alone, no one can make fun of you, right? Although, we all know that we learn much more with a native speaker. Until you muster that courage up, here’s an example of a site with simple explanations and usage along with audio samples from elearnspanishlanguage.com.
Another misuse brought to my understanding is in Chinese: the difference between Ni Hao and Nin Hao. While the former is used to address people you know and share conversations with, the latter is a more formal greeting, used for superiors. However, both are just substitutions for more traditional greetings.
Chinatourmap.com has a fun dialog emulating a radio show, where readers can learn basic Chinese greetings and vocab. There’s also portion of the site dedicated to researching and planning trips to China, if interested. Similar to the Spanish site, you can listen and learn on your own, if that makes you more comfortable. Nothing beats learning from a native speaker though!
Communication is so complex and diverse. However, it can be used to create lasting, memorable impressions and relationships. The more we know, the better off we will be in this crazy world.
Tags: communication, culture, impressions, Life, relationships, travel, Ways to Say Hello
