Tales of Hi and Bye

07This book provides an intriguing insight into the fascinating customs associated with greeting and parting rituals around the world.16We do it over and over again, day after day, and never seem to get enough of it. Albanians do it. Zulus do it. Movie stars and plumbers do it. All around the world, people say hi and bye in innumerable languages and countless ways: they wave and bow and curtsey and shake hands and rub noses and fist-bump and mwah-mwah and perform a vast array of greeting and farewell rituals, so common and natural that no-one stops to notice Tales of Hi and Bye provides a delightful, witty, and intriguing insight into the sometimes strange and often wonderful customs associated with an ordinary, everyday event.04From the contents:To the readerIntroductionGestures and signals: take a bow: bending at the neck or waistHi, Hitler! Arm salutes at various anglesDo a nose job: rubbing and sniffing as a greetingXXXX! The heartfelt kissFlashy hello: the eyebrow flashGetting the shakes: the story of the handshakeSlaps, daps, thumps and bumps: not so gripping handshakesI dips me lid: the hat as a courtesy toolHello? Hell, no! Greeting refusalsWaves of emotion: greeting from a distanceCustoms and behaviours: no hug for Dr Livingstone: a demonstration of restraintIt hurts to say goodbye: the Parthian shotHow stiff can your upper lip get? Avoiding strangersChinese whispers: greeting and parting rituals in ChinaFrom Russia with love: sit on your case and say goodbyeCut it out! How to avoid saying 'hello'I don't speak to my mother-in-law: avoidance languagePhonethics: telephone mannerismsThanks for having me on! Names and forms of address in the mediaEskimodesty: greeting and visiti04ng in the ArcticNames and addresses: what's so good about it? The curious nature of 'good-' greetingsAhoy, ahoy! Pick up the phone! 'Hello' and its usesThe unlucky Mr Szcz ciarz: foreign names in foreign placesWang is King in China: too many peoplenot enough namesFinding Björk: Icelandic namesYoo-hoo! Who? You! How Swedes don't address each otherMister Doctor: titles of medicos, surgeons and barbersI forget my name: loss of first name by marriageWhen your coz is your sis: kinship termsYou, thou and other politenesses: familiar and polite 'you'Include me out! Dual, trial and other grammatical curiositiesFor me to know and you to find out: naming and name taboosBye-bye! How things have changedPostscriptNotesSourcesIndex.13'Lundmark's unique little book effervesces with intriguing facts and factlets about greeting customs in different cultures around the world, from the Eskimo shoulder strike to the New Zealand 'hongi' (nose-touching). It's guaranteed to entertain and inform - globetrotters and armchair travellers alike.' Pam Peters, Macquarie University, Sydney