HELLO EVERYONE! That’s what we do… say “Hello”… unceasingly in Second Life (SL). In fact, up to 42% of our SL activity is saying hello. Why? It’s fun! Hello is basic courtesy; hello acknowledges people and honors our friends; hello lets everyone know we are present and active. Hello invites a friendly response, another Hello. Hello is what we do and share most-of-all in SL.
SL is everywhere there is Internet, which is everywhere on Earth, 190 countries. It’s awesome. At least 190 ways to say hello. I’ve noticed all along that there are special ways to say hello in SL cultures, ways to greet that don’t appear in textbooks. Vernacular is how ordinary people speak in a language culture. I’ve heard a lot of that in SL and picked up quite a few language tricks.
In this article, I will share how to say hello in many SL vernaculars and cultures. Why? It’s fun! Because knowing local knowledge empowers you to travel anywhere in SL in any culture and “fit in” and greet people with warmth. Hello in their words honors their culture. The power to be accepted everywhere… ultimately
becomes the possibility of world peace. Or spycraft! Tee Hee!
Let’s get started. Knowing how to say hello in one nation is readily accepted in neighboring RL cultures. Example: Zdravo (Macedonian) is a greeting accepted by Greek, Serbian, and others nearby. Learn one; learn all.
In order by world population:
#1 CHINESE – Ni Hao is hello in our world’s most populous country. #2 SPANISH – Hola is hello or Ola, which is also used in Portugal and Brazil.
#3 ENGLISH – Not everyone speaks English, it’s not required coursework in numerous countries. Nevertheless, English is defacto common language across SL and RL. All SL advertising is supposed to be in English. Common English hellos are: Hello, Hey, Hiya, Hi, and more warmly Hi Hi.
Tag lines are phrases you can add to most any greeting that juice it up, making it warmer and more emphatic. Meaning “you are VERY welcome my friend.” Example: I greet “Hiya Jane! Hugs” and “Hey John! Cheers!” Or to really juice up a greeting, add a double
or triple tag line, like “Hi Hi Jane! Hugglez Babe!” and “Hugs John! GTSY Cheers Mate!”
To say hello in English vernacular… take the common hellos (Hiya, Hey, Hi, Hi Hi, Greetings) add a name, possibly a tag line (gtsy, hugs, Hugglez, Cheers) and for real zing, a double tag line (Dude! Mate! Love! Babe! Hunni! Darling! Sweetie! You Rock! U Go Gurl!). Americans can always add “and stuff”… like “Hiya Jane! Hugs and Stuff!” lol
Simple huh? Allright. Let’s go global! #4 HINDI – Namaste is a universal hello, recognized throughout South Asia and new-age spiritual communities, literally it means “I pray to the god inside you.” By universal hello, I mean it is always appropriate everywhere.
#5 ARABIC – Salaam is hello, in response they say Wasalaam or type “ws”. These abbreviate the universal Islamic greeting: “as salaam ‘alaykum” (Peace Be With You!) and in response “wa ‘alaykum salaam” (And Also With You!). Sound familiar? There is no unique spelling; it’s phonetic. Salaam!
In terms of population: #6 Portguese (See #2) Boa Note is good evening. #7 Bengali (See #4).
#8 RUSSIAN – Dosvedanya means until we meet again, but passes as a hello too. Dosvedanya Comade!
#9 JAPANESE – Konnichiwa and Konnbanwa are good morning and good afternoon, will be much appreciated by Japanese speakers. Tag line: Hai! Hai! means Yes! Yes! with great warmth and enthusiasm. Extend the courtesies: Arigato means thank you and Arigato Gomasai means thank you very much.
#10 Punjabi (See #4). We’ve covered how to say hello to 3 billion people thus far… Now for some real fun!
#11 GERMAN – Hallo! German speaking people in SL are a special kind of wild and fun. IMHO. “huhu” means friendly hello. You can embellish as “huhu du” and “huhu du du” adding warmth and great warmth. For friends you hold dear, you can add “chen” or “maus” to their name, like Janechen and Janemaus, terms of endearment which literally mean little dog and little mouse. Danke Schoen!
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The Art of Hello!