In the world today, there are several aspects of life that occur without being noticed. Reason being, these individual aspects seem insignificant in comparison to everything else that happens in a person’s daily life. After taking a little time out to observe society, I have noticed that the way people greet each other varies depending on certain factors. In this essay, I will explore some of these factors involved in greetings.

            “Language is a well-defined object in the heterogeneous mass of speech facts. It can be localized in the limited segment of the speaking-circuit where an auditory image becomes associated with a concept” (Saussure 960-961). This passage begins my essay on greetings from an auditory standpoint or verbal communication. What a particular person says to another person signifies, or represents, different types of relationships. For example, a simple “hello” may signify that the people involved really don’t know each other that well but are just acknowledging each other in passing. Or perhaps, they may have met before, but are not really considered friends, but still have the courtesy to speak to one another.

            To continue along the topic of verbal greetings, a simple hello might be replaced by any number of other words or phrases, once again depending on the relationship between the people involved. “When we speak of the value of a word, we generally think first of its property of standing for an idea, and this is in fact one side of linguistic value” (Saussure 968). This statement by Saussure, brings into account the idea of a word, or in this case a greeting, standing as an idea on its own. Earlier I mentioned that the word “hello” could be replaced by another word or phrase. I’ll use the phrase “what up” as the replacement phrase.  This particular phrase represents Saussure’s statement perfectly. 

“What up” clearly has the ability to stand as a clear idea all on its own. It is a phrase that asks, what’s going on with the particular person and or what’s going on in the surrounding area. These are two separate but similar ideas created by one simple phase that’s used in the form of a greeting. But greetings are not just verbal; usually, the verbal part of the greeting serves as a set up for the actual physical part that usually follows.

            The actual physical part of the greeting is what interests me the most. There are several different acts of physical greetings ranging from a simple handshake to a hug but they seem to serve different purposes. First we begin with the handshake. This is a greeting that seems to be the most popular among society. The hand shake seems to be an easy way to let people know that they mean no harm. For example, in almost every situation where there is some sort of language barrier, the handshake seems to always be the way that individuals show respect and it also serves as a sign of politeness.

            Now on the other hand, there is the handshake and the hug greeting. This is where an individual shakes the other persons hand and pulls them in for a hug also. I find this type of greeting more common with young adults, especially African Americans males. It seems this type of greeting is more popular with this particular group due to the hip hop culture and masculinity itself. From a cultural standpoint, the hip hop industry is mainly African American so it’s easy for young African Americans, and others who follow hip hop, to mimic the actions and culture of the hip hop industry. It kind of relates to the research of Levi Strauss:

I handed out sheets of paper and pencils.

At first they did nothing with them, then

one day I saw that they were busy drawing

wavy, horizontal lines. I wondered what they

were trying to do, then it was suddenly borne

upon me that they were writing or to be more

accurate, were trying to use their pencils in the

same way as I did mine. (Levi-Strauss 1421)

All of the young hip hop heads mimic or imitate the very people that they enjoy and follow all the time similar to a child and parent relationship. Not forgetting about the female gender in this essay, women seem to thrive more on the touch value. Thus, most of the time when women greet each other, it is with open arms of embrace and smiling faces. I feel the reasoning behind this is because it is easier to embrace someone who looks the same as you. Interestingly, this also relates back to the concept of mimicking. Doing what feels comfortable because it is what you’re used to seeing and therefore, it must be right.

A lot of Greetings and Hello’s, depends on the society that surrounds it. In this ever changing post modern society, people are required to adapt or get left behind. Even for something like a simple greeting, there is still a necessary need to adapt. It is obvious that the cultural differences in society today, also makes a difference in why and how a greeting is interpreted.  Along with societal differences, class also can prove to be an important factor. For example, someone from a bourgeois class may not understand or even acknowledge someone from a lower class greeting. But the same can be said for working class of the bourgeois class.

Bottom line, this society seems to be stuck in a phase of repetition and familiarity. No one wants to move away from what they feel is their comfort zone. On this earth, we are bound to come into contact with someone we do not know and in order to further the relationship there must be an exchange of greetings and hello’s. And no matter the language or technique involved, if all else fails, nothing says hello like a smiling face and a firm handshake.    

WORKS CITED

Leitch, Vincent,B,et al. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. New York: W.W.

Norton & Company 2001.