Greeting

From Free net encyclopedia

Greetings are social customs or rituals to show attention or to confirm friendship or social status between individuals or groups of people meeting each other. Greeting habits are highly culture- and situation-specific and may change within a culture depending on social status. This topic excludes military and ceremonial salutes but includes rituals other than gestures.

Some epochs and cultures had very elaborate greeting rituals, e.g., greeting of a king.

Secret societies have clandestine greeting rituals that allow members to recognize common membership.

Contents 1 Spoken 2 Spoken (Other than English) 3 Gestures 4 See also

Spoken

Spoken greetings are customary or ritualised words or phrases used to introduce oneself or to greet someone. In English, some common verbal greetings are:

• "Hello", "hi", and "Hey" — General verbal greetings. The latter two are less formal. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first citation of "hey" is found as early as 1225, and is defined as "a call to attract attention . . . an exclamation to express exultation . . . or surprise." The English language's other monosyllabic greeting, "Hi", is actually much newer, having become popular in the 1920s. Many languages use the word as a greeting, though a variety of spellings exist, including "hei" and "hej".
• "Good morning", "good afternoon", "good evening" — More formal verbal greetings used at the appropriate time of day. Note that the similar "good night" and "good day" are more commonly used as phrases of parting rather than greeting, although in Australian English "G'day" is a very common greeting.
• "What's up?", "How's it going?" and "What's happening?" — informal greetings used frequently
• "How do you do?" Has two usages, depending on the country. For example in Ireland it should be treated as a salutation, whereas in England it should be treated as a question that requires an answer.
• "Howdy" — Informal greeting. Derived from "how do you do," it is common in the rural regions of the United States.

Verbal greetings in other languages may also be found at common phrases in different languages.

Spoken (Other than English)

Hebrew Nations: "Shalom" (Peace)

Islam: "Assalamu alaikum" (Peace be upon you)

Hindu Nations: "Namaste" (I salute the God within You)

Tibetan: "Tashi Delay" (Congratulations, You are alive!)

English Speaking nations: "Goodbye" (evolved from "God be with you")

Gestures

• Bowing
• Cheek kissing
• Handshake
• Hand-kissing
• Hat-raising
• Hat-tipping
• Kowtow
• Namaste
• Roman salute
• Waving

See also

• Pascha greeting
• Salute
• Salutation

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