Natasha
Ang
Martina
Videla Black
Ivan
Singgit
Kathy
Yuan
Different Formal Greetings
Found All Over the World
It’s not wrong to say
that there are unlimited numbers of cultures spread throughout the whole globe.
Surprisingly, with such a huge number of, every culture is its own identity and
is different from every other culture even though some of them might possess
similar values and orders. One important part of culture is how to greet people
in formal situations. Here are some greetings customary that can be found from
different parts of the world:
Mexico:
When
greeting in social situations, women pat each other on the right forearm or
shoulder, rather than shake hands
Men
shake hands until they know someone well, at which time they progress to the
more traditional hug and back slapping.
South Korea:
Greetings
follow strict rules of protocol.
Many
South Koreans shake hands with expatriates after the bow, thereby blending both
cultural styles. The person of lower status bows to the person of higher
status, yet it is the most senior person who initiates the handshake. The
person who initiates the bow says, "man-na-suh pan-gop-sumnida",
which means "pleased to meet you."
Information
about the other person will be given to the person they are being introduced to
in advance of the actual meeting.
Japan:
Bowing is considered
extremely important in Japan. Bows are performed with the back straight and the
hands are the sides pr clasped in the lap and with the eyes down. In Japan,
they generally divided into two types of bows: informal bows are made at about
fifteen degree and formal bows are about thirty degree.
India:
Westerners may shake
hands,however, greeting with ‘namaste’ and placing both hands together with a
slight bow is appreciated and shows respect for indian customs.
Men shake hands with men
when meeting ot leaving. Men do not touch women when meeting or greeting.
Traditional Indian women may shake hands with foreign women but not usually
with men.
Saudi Arabia:
In Saudi Arabia, the
Islamic teaching are very deep embedded in their root and this affects how
greetings are done in that country. It’s better to wait until the men from the
country do the greetings. The greetings are usually done with a formal
handshake between 2 businessmen. However, in a closer business relationship,
there are also the traditional Arab greeting which is both men exchange kisses
on the cheeks. Businesswomen should not initiate greetings and wait till
someone greeted them. During greetings, it’s also advisable to say "As
Salaamu 'Alaykurn” which means “peace be with you” to our Arab partners as a
sign of respect.
Nigeria:
In Nigeria, shaking
hands is usually an acceptable way of greetings. However, formal greetings in
Nigerian culture can vary differently depending on the person you’re greeting.
Similar to Saudi Arabia’s culture, Islam is a big influence in Nigeria. It’s
better to wait until someone from the culture initiate the greetings. Towards
older and more senior businessmen, a bow greeting is preferable as it signifies
respect and acknowledgment. It’s also important to stand up when someone is
greeting you or when someone important just entered the room, it’s one of those
values that’s regarded highly in the culture. Finally, greetings should not be
rushed, it’s plainly rude. Use the opportunity to know your counterparts
better, it’s fine to ask about personal life
Chile:
Chilean formal greets
are always handshakes, and if the people that are greeting didn't knew each
other, then they introduce their name and depending on the situation, their
position on their jobs.
If the formal relation
with a person is getting stronger, and one of them is a woman, then you might
start greeting with a kiss on the cheek, but just after both people feel it is
appropriate.
Austria:
In Austria, also formal
greets are just handshakes, no matter the level of confidence you may have with
the other person, because if you are in a formal context, you can’t mix
personal life with your job.
As you can see, every
greetings in each culture are different from each other. Even neighboring
countries such as Japan and Korea or countries with similar lingua franca such
as Mexico and Chile don’t exactly have the same cultures and customs while they
may share some similarities. Therefore, it’s important not to overgeneralize
and rely on stereotypical assumption that “I know about this culture because it’s
the same about this other culture.”
