The Concise

A greeting in which both greeter and greeted exchange nothing more than single words: “Hi” and “Hi”, and so forth. If asked, both the greeter and greeted would rate the quality of their as greeting “nice” on a scale of one to seven, with one as “omg bodily repulsive” and seven as “why I live, breathe and write passionate, poor poetry about ripe red roses.” My 8th grade English teacher railed against use of the word “nice” for, in her opinion, it expressed nothing of descriptive value. I agree.

This greeting is, essentially, a convention of nice politeness. It’s an appropriate acknowledgement that the other exists in the same proximity; it’s possibly a show of respect. More tersely, it’s polite. Researchers indicate that young children-ahem, some young children-learn these politeness routines at a young age. As Greif et al (1980, p.166) conclude, “children do not seem to use politeness routines very willingly or spontaneously, but the adult world insists on their performance.” Do we ever!

Greif, E. B., & Gleason, J. B. (1980). Hi, thanks, and goodbye: More routine information. Language in Society, 9(02), 159-166. Retrieve from here