Many of my students have been disenchanted by American greetings because they don't realize that when an American says "Hey, how're you doing?" they don't really want to know how you are. It's just a greeting. Some of them have been quite surprised when the American expressed discomfort at their detailed explanation of their current mood.
Because I'm aware of this, I usually don't ask my students how they are unless I really have time to hear their answers. And we talk about what Americans really mean by their question. But I was wondering what you say. When you see someone you know walking past or in a room, what is your usual response? Do you just say hi and keep walking? Do you ask them how they are? Do you stop and chat? I'm sure one's response is greatly dependent on how much time is available...I'm speaking generally here. What would you do/say?
3 comments:
I have a grumpy coworker who simply says, "I'm alive." I normally say "I'm well" or "A bit tired" or "Somewhat sneezy" or "Happy because..." As with your students, I figure if someone greets me with a question, it deserves more than a half-hearted, "I'm fine."
When I greet people these days, it's either a "How have you been?" or "Howdy!" I figure "howdy" can work both ways, as it can both be interpreted as "how do you do?" and "Hi!"
Incidentally, when I lived in Essex England, the regional greeting was "Hiya, yalright?" The yes/no greeting was always easy to give a "yes, thank you" as an answer.
I remember having this same conversation in one of my linguistics classes, driven by the non-native English speakers claiming that Americans were very superficial because they would ask how you were doing without really wanting to know.
I think it's more accurate to say that "How are you doing?" is a stock greeting and doesn't necessarily mean that the person really wants to know, any more than someone who says "goodbye" is very religious because the word comes from "god be with ye." (I.e., it's not as if athiests refuse to use the phrase . . .)
That said, I don't use "How are you doing?" as a stock greeting and I don't generally respond with "good" or "fine," either, especially if I'm not. As a greeting, I usually say "hi" or "hey" or "hello," and when asked how I'm doing (in passing), I usually say "well enough," and then anyone who actually cares can inquire further.
I had a conversation at the grocery store today that went like this:
Me: "What's going on?"
Him: "Good"
I think a non-American would have been confused.
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