Here is my revenge to mbaka,

The following is a translation of an article issued on a local Chinese newspaper, which is about the greetings manner of the ordinary Chinese that written by a foreigner from an English speaking country in middle America.

(After read the article, I often wonder that how many ways of greetings around Africa and the other continent.)

All my life, I had been used to saying “Hi”, “Hello”, “Good morning”, “Good afternoon”, “Good evening” to friends or friendly strangers I met throughout the day. My mind had also been programmed to expect only these types of greetings from others. After arriving in China, I expected more or less the same type of greetings, though in a different language. But people never did so. And whenever I used these greetings, I usually got a look of indifference or a little smile.

Bewildered by the lack of greetings in China, one day I approached one of my Chinese friends about the matter. Her response was that I must have been greeted hundreds of times and didn’t even realize it. “When your friends or acquaintances meet you do they say, ‘Chi fan le ma’, ‘Shang jie’, ‘Qu na’, ‘Mai dongxi’, or ‘Xi yi fu’?” Oddly enough, I had been asked those strange questions and have heard those strange comments a thousand times. “That is how Chinese people usually greet one another,” my lecturer explained.

How much in the dark I had been. Because of ignorance, I always thought that the reason someone asked me “Have you eaten” was because I looked too thin, or I looked like I was famished or that I was being reminded to eat. Ignorance also made me mutter under my breath “None of your business” as I avoided direct answers to the question “where are you going”. And it was the same ignorance that made me think how boring some of my friends were to have seen me washing clothes or buying stuff and yet tell me that I was washing clothes or buying stuff. As if I didn’t already know what I was doing.

But enlightenment from my friend shed new light on these once misunderstood forms of greetings. Now, I’ve grown accustomed to most and use them regularly myself. But still, I am happy for the ever increasing using of the simple and more familiar “Ni hao” to great others. It is the one form of greeting that I use most often.

that's sad you cannot eat, mbaka. or you can drink some milk.

Sooz, that's interesting.

i heard that in France, people shake hands and sometimes kiss faces when they meet at the first time in a day. it might last a long time if people come into a room one by one.  

By the way, mbaka, have you eaten?

 :hehe:  :hehe:

GBA.. Milk is for baby cows not humam consumption  :eyecrazy:

Right Mbaka.. and also don't forget the 3 kisses on the cheeks.. doesn't imply anything except a greeting of friendship.

I like that, GBA! I was delighted once on a small island in Fiji while walking along a beach after work, probably the only non-Fijian on the island, some children came up to me and asked me where I was going. Makes a nice change from "where do you come from?"!

KAT,

what is that cat licking?

 Thats a nice one, Sooz!!!  Here in London, its always the weather is crap, isn't it?

oh the false notion all cats drink milk...no..not so.

My one old boy loves his tea..yes put some tea in a saucer for him and he'll lap it up as though it was made espcially for him..

My other oldster will drink only water....for as long as I have had him 10 1/2 years he has never once drank milk....meow

Thank you GBA

Absolutely true, GBA. The worst though is the French goodbye - interminable - we once stood at our front door for an hour at 3 in the morning saying goodbye to a guest who just couldn't go home!  

good story GBA.

In Kenya, greetings usually go along these lines:

jambo!
habari yako?            how are you?
mambo vipi?            how's things?
sasa, vipi?            so, what's up?
sasa, mambogani?            what's happening?
sopa!            hello! (Maasai)
atirere!            hello! (Kikuyu)

finally i know what's mambogani.

GBA - I've heard and read that in parts of Western Africa (eg Senegal), when friends and acquaintances meet, they go through an enormous list of questions about members of the family... "and how is your mother's sister's son-in-law...", takes a least 5 minutes before you can get down to business!

Sooz

Exactly
I was about to come to that, but i was at the Dentist. so, b/c of that GBA, i didn't eat. :laugh:

GBA

We do have special hearty greetings which we use for Family, aquandancies, guests and friends. Then we have special ones for elder people and they in turn for younger people.

Someone who hasn't being brought up traditionaly make a lot of mistake greeting people at home.
I live abroad for decades. for that reason, i have difficult speaking my mother-toung, but i never forget the rules of greetings.

Shikamoo(question)  =  marahaba (answer):
Goodday        =           goodday:     This is how you greet an elder person or guest of honour.

Otherwise our greetings stand in the middle of asking news from home, etc. We do ask if you are hungry too.

Habari gani? =  Whats new?

Habari ya Nyumbani? = Any news at home?

Habari Yako? = What's new with you?

Umeshindaje? = how have you spent your day?

Habari y Kazi? = How is your work doing?

Habari gani, ndungu? = Whats new my friend?
Ndungu (Masculine)Brother
Dada    (feminine) Sister

thanks for sharing... that's new for me.. learned something today

I gather its " ndugu"

Ghana - Wo et esan
Nigeria - Kilon shele
Zaire - Sangwenini

Sometimes it is nice to receive a simple message in another language when you are trying to learn it, especially a romantic one. A true romantic at heart I guess.

Empathy are you sure you don't mean Sango nini?