Popular Greetings

Natasha Ang

Martina Videla Black

Ivan Singgit

Kathy Yuan

Popular Greetings

The Dap Greet
This type of greeting is very common in the western world with the origins being traced back to Africa. It is believed that Africans upon meeting individuals from a different tribe would do a series of gestures to indicate peaceful and friendly intentions. Blacks who migrated to other parts of the globe, including slaves, formed their own dap greetings. It is believed that the word ‘Dap’ is an acronym for ‘Dignity and pride’ though some believe this is a ‘backronym’, since it might be a shortening of other words. Dap is best known as a complicated routine of shakes, slaps, snaps, bumping fists, wiggling fingers and other forms of contact that are known by the two parties. The dap greeting gained widespread attention back in 2008 when Barack Obama and his wife exchanged a fist bump before his presidential nomination victory speech.  This resulted in a number of media houses explaining the greeting and thus resulting to a widespread use of the greeting in America.

The Air Kiss
The air kiss or ‘muah’ is a gesture of greeting or farewell. Muah! As is commonly known is the sound made when kissing and is now an official word for an air kiss in the dictionary, it holds an onomatopoeic function. The air kiss is a pretense of kissing ,the lips are pursed as if kissing but not actually touching,sometimes it involves touching cheek-to-cheek. It is often associated with high profile celebrities and models. It is believed that the air kiss originated from models since they traveled to place such as France where kissing is a form of greeting, to avoid messing up the models make-up the air kiss was invented. In Indonesia and Malaysia , it is common to air-kiss an elder's hand as a traditional form of respectful greeting. It is believed that the air kiss was popularized in America by shows like ‘sex and city.’

High Five
High five is gesture to symbolize greeting or celebration, it involves the slapping of the palms of two individuals with their arms raised above their heads. Its origins can be traced back to the U.S.A basketball game. It is quite common around the world, its popularity spread by its frequent use by public figures for instance Oprah and First lady Michele Obama.

What's Considered Rude Greetings in some Part of the World

Natasha Ang

Martina Videla Black

Ivan Singgit

Kathy Yuan

Rude Greeting from Over the World

There are some of the most important greetings that considered rude and cannot use around the world. Most of them are similar but some are different. As a result of, knowing these cultures may help you get away from contradictions.

Japan

Japanese like more space between themselves than others otherwise no space to bow. They also avoid touching because they feel uncomfortable. Eye contact is thought of as rude in Japan, they will often look down at their shoes or off in the air. In Japan, silence is golden and do not be surprised.

China

China has similar culture with Japan, both countries dislike being touched. However, Chinese consider eye contact as respect. You must have eye contact with the person you listen or talking to because that way they know you are with them. In addition, in China point with an open hand and never point with your index finger.

India

In India, they use right hand to eat, touch someone, pass or pick up things because left hand consider unclean. Females need to avoid eye contact and do not initiate conversation in public. Anyway, they also avoid other physical contact other than a handshake between males and females.

Turkey

Most of countries do not like people stand with your hands on you hips when talking to others and put your hands in your pockets, especially with older people. Besides, in Turkey, putting your thumb between your first two fingers is the equivalent to raising your middle finger in the US.

Germany

Germans like to treat people nicely when they get to know them better otherwise they may appear unfriendly. However, making hands into two fists, thumbs tucked inside the other fingers and making pounding motion lightly on a surface expresses “good luck.”  Instead, never use “OK” sign because it considered a rude attitude.

 

Taiwan

Taiwanese has similar culture with Chinese. No touching and never use feet to move things or to point at an object because feet considered dirty. Also putting your arm around someone’s shoulder, winking and pointing with your index finger are all considered rude.

Singapore

Singaporeans have opposite culture with Indians for example, Men and women may shake hands although the woman must extend her hand first to introduce each other. One interesting thing is that face is what makes Singaporeans strive for harmonious relationships. In Singapore, never signal or point at a person with the forefinger.

Vietnam

When trying to ger someone to come to you, lets say a waitress at a restaurant, do not point your finger and flex it toward your body as we do in America. If you use this method to beckon a Vietnamese local they may get upset. This is because this is how you call for an animal. Furthermore, beckoning signifies that person has a lower class than you so it can be very upsetting to older Vietnamese. Instead, keep your palm down and flex your entire hand, this will keep everyone happy.

Handshakes. Left or Right hand?

Natasha Ang

Martina Videla Black

Ivan Singgit

Kathy Yuan

Handshakes. Left or Right hand?

When you meet with someone in a formal situation, you will greet with a handshake. Simple, everyone knows that, they stretch their right hand and maybe say a few words, like your name, or “Good Morning”. But, what would happen if someone stretched their left hand?  I have saw just a few times, little kids that without knowing, they stretch their left hands, and someone always tells them; “no, the other hand”, but why?

If we think about it, both hands are exactly the same. Even though just a little percentage of the population is left-handed, this group also handshake with their right hand. Maybe is because almost everyone is right-handed?

Actually we handshake with the right hand, because in the past, when toilet paper did not exist, people had to use their left hands for certain things and the right one for others. While the right hand was used for eating, cooking, and handshaking, between many other things, the left hand had to be used for personal hygiene. 

            Also in the past, when a thief got caught, they cut his hand off, the right hand, so that he would have to be isolated from society as he couldn’t eat properly, with the proper hand.

So now this ritual has been adopted and passed by all generations. And it is used all over the world, especially in business relations in which there are 2 or more different cultures involved, so this would be an international greet among different cultures.

Although we find that there is one exception to the rule. Scouts handshake with the left hand, and there are many versions of the story about how this started, and one of those is that when a very important Coronel for the story of the Scouts enter to a natives town, he went to meet the chief of those people and when he stretched his right hand, the chief said to him: “No, in my town the bravest among the brave is greeted with the left hand”, so after that they adopted this tradition.

The Origins of "Hello"

Natasha Ang

Martina Videla Black

Ivan Singgit

Kathy Yuan

The origins of “Hello”

Have you ever wondered what the origins of hello were? Where did it come from, why was it used, who said it? Based on the Oxford English Dictionary we know that the first published use of "hello" goes back only to 1827. Back then Hello was not a greeting like it is now. People did not say Hello when you saw someone on the street that you knew. Instead, hello was used like onomatopoeia in a sense that Hello was like a sound or a word that called people to attention.

By Land:

Hello was actually an alternative to the common Hullo or Hallo, which was used when hailing a ferryman. The words are actually derived from Old High German, and are the basis for the Hello that we have today.

The transition from Hello to Hi did not happen until the telephone came around. Hi was a quicker way to call the attention because it had fewer letters in it and was a quick sharp impact. Over time you can imagine that Hello and Hi went from words that called people to attention or expressed surprise to a word that was used to greet another person who was passing by.

By Sea:

On the seas there was a different type of Hello that was taking hold. Ahoy, which has been around longer than hello or hullo has been taking the seas by storm, but what kept Ahoy from becoming our potential common day Hello? The answer is in marketing and good communication on the side of the brand.

Hello was featured in telephone books and in greetings to the customers. There was even a myth that said that Thomas Edison told people to say Hello when using his inventions. Whatever the reason it is clear that repetition and gaining public support for using the words was a driving force into turning a hullo into a Hello.

Hey:

One thing that I find quite interesting is that in the older days Hello was used, but then shortened to Hi, which is a two person word. One word that has become increasingly popular in today’s age is Hey. Hey is one letter more than Hi, and if the reasoning behind Hi was to shorten the word Hello, then I really do not understand why anyone would make the word longer by adding the Y and changing the I to and E. I feel like it is an unnecessary addition to the English Language, but Hey, I am guilty of using it frequently as well.

First Impression!!

Natasha Ang

Martina Videla Black

Ivan Singgit

Kathy Yuan

First Impressions!!

         Greetings fellow readers!! Have you ever wondered what makes a first impression or what is a first impression? Today we will be tackling a few of them

  

Let’s start out this post with “What is a first impression?”

Well, a first impression is the mental picture/impression that you get of a person upon meeting then for the first time. This picture/impression that we get about the person is usually a representation of how or what the person is like. For the most part these impressions can range from positive to negative and tend to last a long time.

For example, say you meet a person for the first time and at the time you were meeting them they were holding a cat. Your first impression could be that they love cats or own a cat, and you can go on through your life thinking that they are a cat person. That is your impression of the person, but the reality could be that the person hates cats and loves dogs, and the reason they had the cat was because they lost a bet and was holding the cat as punishment. 

How long does it take for someone to make a first and lasting impression?

Some researchers say that typically within the seven seconds a person will start developing an impression of you. Once the time frame reaches 30-60 seconds they have formulated an almost complete perception of you based on the impression.

How long do first impressions last?

There is no definite answer to this question because impressions work on a case by case basis, but I believe that usually first impressions last a long time. It has been my experience that bad first impressions linger longer than good first impressions and are harder to change once someone has a bad first impression of you. On the other hand good first impressions are easily tarnished and can sometimes lead people to quickly question their first impression of you.

Why are first impressions important?

First impressions are important because they help people gauge how another individual is. Are they nice, do they seem knowledgeable, are they a mean person, etc. Good first impressions also help people stand out to recruiters or business people and may potentially land you an interview, a job, or even a partnership. First impressions are a good time for you to go out and sell yourself

How can you make a good first impression?

The first thing you do when you meet someone is to greet them. This is the first step to making a good first impression, and is sometimes the most crucial step for establishing a good relationship. In a business setting the best way to start a good first impression is to greet them first instead of waiting for them to approach you. If you go out of your way to greet them, then most likely they will have a good first impression of you. Greetings around the world differ by culture and have a strong tie to the culture’s tradition and historical ties. For the most part the most genetic greeting is a hand shake. Most people seem to default to this greeting when faced with a unfamiliar individuals from different cultural backgrounds, but sometimes does not work when cultures prefer non physical greetings. In that case a wave should suffice.

Either way, greetings are an important way to set the tone when you want to set a good first impression. Not all greetings are the same, but making an effort to greet someone will set a better first impression than being too scared to try. Goodbye, and good luck!

Multiple Hand Gestures Interpretation across Culture

Natasha Ang

Martina Videla Black

Ivan Singgit

Kathy Yuan

Multiple Hand Gestures Interpretation across Culture

Similar to greetings and salutations, one other important component of a culture is hand gesture. Hand gesture is the movement made by our hands that displays some form of nonverbal communication as we generate messages through the expression and movement of our hands without using any verbal context. What a lot of people don’t know about hand gestures is that it doesn’t necessarily have the same meaning in every culture. One famous example is when former President of America, Richard Nixon went to Australia for political reasons. Once he stepped outside his plane, he made a v-sign gesture towards every cameras and reporters surrounding him. However, he didn’t realize that he just actually insulted the whole Australia because of one single hand gesture. Therefore, let’s examine some famous hand gestures that symbolize a lot of different meanings in different cultures.

The Thumbs Up 

Origins of Thumbs Up had been debated for a long time; some said that it has been used since the Roman Empire era where Thumbs Up means Gladiator who loses a battle will be spared their life and vice versa. In the modern era, the Thumbs Up hand gesture in most cases signify sign of approval or “good job” and it’s very much associated with positive messages, whereas Thumbs Down usually means disapproval. However in some Middle-Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, thumbs up are probably the worst possible type of gestures you can give to the local people. It’s pretty much the equivalence of middle finger gesture in Western countries. This interpretation of thumbs up also can be found in West African countries, Latin American countries and also parts of Mediterranean Europe such as Italy and Greece.






The OK Sign 

In U.S and Canada, the OK or A-OK sign is another very common hand gesture used to notify agreement or just the expression of feeling content with something. This Ok-sign is also popular amongst scuba divers to signify that they’re alright. However, the same gesture has various different interpretations from different part of the world. For example in France, The Ok gesture is interpreted as zero, so French people might get offended when someone showed them that gesture because they think the person doing the gesture are calling them worthless like the number zero. In Turkey, some Latin American countries and some part of Germany, the OK-sign is considered to be fairly offensive. The sign is usually related to homosexuality or basically calling the person an anus. In Asia, the sign signifies money in Japan and the number 3 in China.

The V-Sign

Another very common gesture in the Western world is the V-sign or also usually called as the peace sign or number 2 sign. In most Western countries, there are 2 types of V-signs. One of them is when you make the sign with your palm facing towards your audiences; this v-sign usually symbolizes things such as peace, love and victory. Another type is when you make the sign with your palm facing towards yourselves; this was taken as a gesture of insult by a lot of Western countries particularly United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, etc.

The V-sign is much more ambiguous in the Eastern culture. In most East Asian countries such as Japan, China, Thailand, etc, the gesture is usually interpreted as a symbol of victory. There are also no differences between outward or inward V-Sign in Asia. In Vietnam, this gesture actually can be used as a gesture to say “Hello.” In Argentina, the sign is usually associated with the political movement Peronismo. The V-sign are also not just different by countries, even some sub-cultures has different interpretation of V-sign. One of them is the famous “Fight On” pose which is very associated with students of USC.

As you can see, there are multiple interpretations of the same gesture across countries and cultures. Even, sub-cultures within a culture might also have another interpretation that’s not mainstream but it applies in their culture. Therefore, it’s very important to be able to understand what these little things mean in other cultures because it could potentially make or break your relationship with these cultures by doing a tiny hand gesture.

Unique and Weird Greetings Found in Some Parts of the World

These are some of the most unique greetings around the world.

Most of them belong to tribes in different parts of the world; therefore each of these welcoming ways will be founded just in one part of the world.

China
In China, the tradition is to greet with the “Kowtow”, which is bowing with the hands folded, and women have to make a “Wanfu”, that is folding and moving hands down by the side of the body.

Even though today it is not very used, it is a sign of respect.

Japan

The Japanese greet, is a bow, which can be just a small gesture of the head, to a complete ninety degree bow to the waist.

Depending on places that you might be, you might be required to get on your knees in order to bow.

The bow is a sign of respect, and the bow is longer and deeper, the more respect you are showing.

Nowadays younger people use a more informal welcome, just a little head bow. Japanese however, don't expect foreigners to know about bowing, so they are often exempt from the custom.

Thailand

In this part of the world, people’s traditional greeting is known as the “Wai”, a graceful tradition in which one has to make a bow of the body and head, with the palms pressed together while saying “Sawaddee”.The position of the hands will change, more closer to the face, means more respect is showing the person that makes the “Wai”. Originally it meant the absence of weapons, which was considered the most respectful act.

Philippines

In the Philippines there is one of the most unique ways to welcome.

When a younger person meets an older, they have to bow grab the elder’s right hand with their right hand, allowing their knuckles to touch the elder person’s forehead, at the same time the younger has to say “Mano Po”, which means Hand Respect

Mongolia

When an unfamiliar person goes to their home, a Mongol will give the guest a Hada (strip of cotton or silk), a tobacco box or a pipe, depending on the area of Mongolia you are. If this occurs, the guest should take it with both hands while bowing slightly.

These both acts are sign of mutual respect, which is very important for Mongolian culture.

Kenya

The Maasai are a tribe in Kenya, and they have a very unique welcoming. They have a welcoming dance called “adamu”, a jumping dance, in which the warriors of the tribe start with a story and at the end they compete to jump the highest, which demonstrates to any visitor, how strong the warriors of the tribe are.

Also in their welcoming they might offer to the visitors, cow’s milk and blood.

Tibet

In this part of the world, different from any other place, poking out your tongue is a traditional welcome.

This started because of an evil Tibetan king, who had a black tongue, and because the people was scared that the evil king would be reincarnated, they began to greet showing their tongues, so they could prove that they weren’t the reincarnation of the king.This greet is accompanied by placing the palms down in front of the chest.

Tuvalu

In this Polynesian island, the custom greet is to press your face to the other person’s cheek and taking a deep breath.

Greenland

In the Artic, we can find the Inuit people or Eskimos, which have a traditional greeting known as “Kunik”.

It is used among family members and loved ones, and it is pressing the nose and upper lip against the other’s skin, ake take a breath. Many people adoted this tradition, by rubbing each other’s nose.

New Zealand

Home of the Maori tribe, who have a traditional welcoming custom known as the Hongi, a very unique and wonderful tradition.

This tradition basically is the rubbing or touching of noses when two people meet. This is a symbolic act that represents the 'breath of life’, which is considered to come directly from the Gods.

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