When I say goodbye to people I often add some incoherent noise which sounds like “take care” or “lotsaluv”. It’s an automatic reflex; I’m not fully aware I’m saying or writing it, and although I always mean what I say — I want people to take care, and I do send my love to them — it’s not a special, individually crafted, personal connection with the person or people involved. I’m sure they think no less of me for saying it, and I doubt they often think about it at all.

Americans from the north and east greet each other with “Hey!” which if an Englishman were to use to call another Englishman would probably result in a bloody nose. It presumably derives from the Scandinavian “Hej!” and is not intended to carry any offensive connotations. Western and Southern Americans prefer “Hi!” which is easier to English ears. A typical Glaswegian greeting is “Hoo are yoo lookin’ at?” and it’s best not to reply.

Germans (in Hesse at least) call “Schüss!” when leaving a shop or bar. I’m not absolutely certain if that’s how it’s spelled. Austrians encountering each other on mountain passes and elsewhere hail with a hearty “Grüß Gott!”, while the Arabs counter with “Alhamdililah!”

Italians say “Ciao” whether coming or going and so as a result (Italians being über cool) does much of the rest of the world. It’s actually a Venetian word, along with ghetto, lido, imbroglio, casino and regatta, and is a dialect version of “schiavo”, meaning “I am your slave.” Think about that the next time you say it.

I also enjoy the way that every Italian, from street punk to international philanthropist, answers the phone with a careful “Pronto?” It sounds so funny to these Brit ears, a mournful “Hurry along now, I haven’t got all day!” but in fact all it stands for is “I am READY to receive your telephonic communication.”

I was on a bus this morning and a woman was saying goodbye to a friend on her mobile. “Have fun,” she said.

That’s nice.

This post is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.