Do you know what different greetings in another languages mean?

89% GOOD (9 votes)

Hi,

I'm in a discovery spree :)

I am looking for ways one greet people in different languages. It's not about the way you pronounce it, but what does it actually mean in this language or where does it come from? [look for my examples below]:

I think we could also enlarge the research by looking for some non-verbal ways to greet: waving or shacking hands (i.e.: the West), bowing (i.e. the East)...

Ok, to give you an idea of what I actually meant:

- I think in Hindi the word "namaste" one use to greet somebody in India, means (in modern interpretation): "I greet the god/form that is in you",
- in Italian the word "ciao" is a short version of a phrase that foreign ambassadors used to greet italian princes and doges with. It was so unpronoucable that they had to cut it. See by yourself: "sono schiavo suo" - meaning "I am your slave/servant".
- in Berber - language of original inhabitants of North Africa - especially today's Algeria say: "azul" - which in free translation means: "get your heart closer to me"...
- in Serbian "zdravo" can be translated as: "be healthy" or "be safe"...

Have you heard of any interesting or unusual ways to greet people in other languages or the story behind them?

cheers,

Komentáře

piccolo_principe profile picture piccolo_principeJuly 2011

Czesc - it is, indeed!

Thanks for your input jean-marie. Do you know maybe what "malotemaoli" actually stands for? Does it any specific meaning in the local language? 

jean-marie profile picture jean-marieJuly 2011

  Hi, or sould I say chechz (sorry dor the spelling mistakes). In France, between friens, wa often say "salut", which is equivalent to the Italian "ciao", when you meet or leave a friend. In Wallisian, the language spoken in Wallis, a small French island in th Pacific Ocean, they say: malotemaoli.

piccolo_principe profile picture piccolo_principeJuly 2011

Non ti preoccupare Salvatore! I'm sure Mrs. California did not do it in purpose...

We have all seen your posts and I personally really appreciate your replies... despite the fact the first one about "cheer" was like copy-pasted from the dictionnary and at some moments hardly understandable... Also I appreciated especially you sharing your native knowledge of Italian in this subject :)

and thanks for the Hawaiian part Mrs. California :) this is exactly what I  was looking for!

Hope other people will join the case soon,

 

sistabella profile picture sistabellaJuly 2011

I can say that in California a head movement, like a singular upwards nod, is a common non verbal greeting.

 

In Hawaii "Aloha" and "Mahalo" are both used as a greeting. The words are a sacred part of Hawaiian culture. Here is a translation I found.

Aloha
[Alo = presence, front, face] + [hâ = breath]
"The presence of (Divine) Breath."

Mahalo
[Ma = In] + [hâ = breath] + [alo = presence, front, face]
"(May you be) in (Divine) Breath."

 

In France a formal greeting is Bonjour, literally good day. And amongst friends or family you will more often hear "salut" which I would think is a likely abbreviation of "salutations".