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Q: Why is it always 'Hello'?
Why does everyone who greets you in the street assume you speak English? I know a guy here from France and he hardly speaks a word of English. Granted, he probably knows 'Hello' but that's not the point. I mean, I know a large portion of the world is English speaking, but why not take a shot in the dark and say "Bonjour" for a change? Or maybe "Salut" or "Kemon Achen, Tchum-reaup Suw, Hola, Bok" or maybe "Ahoj, Saluton, Terve, Kem Chho, Aloha, Dia duit" or "Ciao?" Wouldn't it be nice just once to hear, "Amaskaara, Sillaw, Salve, Labas" or "Hai?" Or "Tēnā Koe, Hei, Dzień dobry" or even "Olá, Bună ziua, Привет, Здраво, Sabbinirica, Ahoj, Zdravo" or possibly "Hujambo?" If just once someone would call "Hallå, Kumusta, Merhaba" or even "Shalom" I think i'd give them a big wet kiss on the bottom. But nope. Just "Hello" (giggle), "Hello" (giggle), "Hello."
because, one world one dream one hello, one giggle
coineineagh:
i'm in the carpool with a bunch of chinese, and your version of the olympic motto gave me the giggles. now im getting irritated looks by people wondering if im laughing at them. and the truth is, i am!
Because it sounds like "hell hole" - something that the Chinese would be well acquainted with.
I get the occasional "Hey man"
DrMonkey:
Only once, in Hefei. A 50-something guy look at me with wide eyes, and loudly with a robot-like voice: "HELLO LAOWAI". Maybe he wanted to be nice, but boy, that was creepy...
Because there are only 3 countries in the world. China, Japan and Waiguo. Waiguo is a big country. It has many provinces such as America, Germany, France and Britain. The official language of Waiguo is English but there are many regional dialects too.
mike695ca:
Yes, One regional dialect I keep hearing about lately is " Canadian". One moron I can let slide. But considering everyone has a cousin or school mate in Canada, and every single person here knows that its a " beautiful country". How is it possible that no less than 5 people this month have asked me if I speak English or Canadian??
I never understand this either. Why not say it in Chinese? Chances are we understand one simple word in Chinese for crying out loud.
It's a no-win situation...
If you say, "Hellooooooo... back...", then you feel like a dumbass because they run away giggling and it just gets annoying.
If you say nothing, then you feel kind of like a snob and they all think you are a snob... just a negative interaction.
If you say "Ni hao" then they think you can speak Chinese fluently as Da Shan and start into a barrage of questions... and learn every personal aspect of your life.
Maybe saying something like "Marhaba" very loudly at them would confuse the hell out of them and that might work... everyone will be like... I don't understand... but he replied... I will leave him alone now to save face.
LesterF:
Very true! Usually I just nod and smile very briefly and that way I won't give away any information that might lead into a conversation in either language. Try it next time ;) or just wear headphones
Mostly I think people are trying to be friendly and the only English word they know is ''hello''.
I walk past the villagers in my town and I can here behind my back. "meiguoren!" They're all excited until I turn around and say I'm not an American, but from New Zealand. To their credit, they seem to know where it is.
mArtiAn:
Actually that's another good point, why do so many people assume all foreigners are American? I've heard it plenty and I'm not even fat.
Nessquick:
Or, I am 90% taken as Russian, rest is American.
I always reply that I am from Africa. "Nooo, no way, you are not enough black." " In south africa are almost no blacks" " oh, yeah ... (hm, really?) "
laowaigentleman:
Hi Rob. No, I don't know how to get access to it here. I live in Shijiazhuang, how about you?
I often just reply with "konichiwa!" Really messes with their heads.
laowaigentleman:
My girlfriend is Chinese, but many Chinese think she looks quite foreign. We sometimes pretend to speak another language. It sounds a little like the made up language from The Fast Show. Pethethethethethethetheth, loca dela loca de los nachos.
