We both started with what is probably the best-known greeting in English and one of the first words English language students learn, and that is 'hello'! So today in 6 Minute English we're digging a little deeper into the world of greetings and the fascinating history of 'hello'.
Surprisingly, the word 'hello' is not as old as you might think. But when did it first appear in print in English? Was it: a) in the 1890s; b) the 1950s or c) the1820s.
Well, I think English changes really quickly, so I'm going to say b) the 1950s. And we'll say 'hello again' to 'hello' a little later in the programme.
First, greetings. They can be a bit of a minefield. A subject full of unpredictable difficulties.
首先，您好。他们可能有点像雷区。一个充满不可预知困难的学科。
Catherine(凯瑟 琳)
While in many places a handshake or bow is normal – there's also the tricky question of kisses and hugs.
虽然在许多地方握手或鞠躬是正常的，但也有亲吻和拥抱的棘手问题。
Rob(罗伯)
Awkward. Should you kiss? How many times? And should your lips touch their cheek?
尴尬。你应该接吻吗？多少次？你的嘴唇应该碰到他们的脸颊吗？
Catherine(凯瑟 琳)
No, Rob - definitely an air-kiss! Close to the cheek, but don't touch. Much safer.
不，罗伯 - 绝对是空吻！靠近脸颊，但不要触摸。更安全。
Rob(罗伯)
Greetings are the subject of a new book, by former British diplomat Andy Scott, called One Kiss or Two: In Search of the Perfect Greeting. Here he is on a BBC radio show Word of Mouth. Why are greetings so important?
问候是英国前外交官安迪·斯科特 的新书《一吻或二：寻找完美问候》的主题。这是他在 BBC 广播节目 Word of Mouth 中。为什么问候如此重要？
Andy Scott, author(Andy Scott，作者)
These are the first moments of interaction we have with people. And it's in those first moments, and using those verbal and physical rituals that we have and we can get in such a muddle about, that we're kind of recognising each other and reaffirming our bonds or even testing our bonds and our relationships with each other, we're signalling our intentions towards each other, despite the fact we might not necessarily be conscious when we're doing them.
Scott says we need to communicate our intentions to each other and acknowledge our relationships.
斯科特说，我们需要向彼此传达我们的意图并承认我们的关系。
Rob(罗伯)
Well, that's what greetings do. One word he uses to mean 'relationship' or 'connection' is bond. We can reaffirm our bonds, which means we confirm them and make them stronger.
And we do it through rituals - patterns of behaviour that we do for a particular purpose. So there are the phrases such as 'hello', 'good afternoon', 'nice to meet you', and as well as the physical rituals – handshakes, bows and kisses.
Though he also said we sometimes want to test our bonds. We might want to check if our friendship has grown by offering something warmer than usual – like a hug instead of a handshake. Now, Scott acknowledges how difficult greetings can be – using the very British slang phrase – to get in a muddle. If you get in a muddle, you become confused or lost. You might get in a muddle if one person expects two kisses and the other expects only one.
Though Scott does believe that the details don't really matter, because another important purpose of greetings is to reduce tension. So if you get it wrong, just laugh about it.
尽管斯科特确实认为细节并不重要，因为问候的另一个重要目的是缓解紧张。所以如果你弄错了，就笑着说吧。
Rob(罗伯)
OK, let's get back to the one word we really shouldn't get in a muddle about, 'hello'.
好，让我们回到我们真的不应该混淆的一个词，“你好”。
Catherine(凯瑟 琳)
Let's listen to Dr Laura Wright, a linguist from Cambridge University, also speaking on the BBC Word of Mouth radio programme. Where does 'hello' come from?
让我们听听剑桥大学的语言学家 Laura Wright 博士也在 BBC 口碑广播节目中的发言。'hello' 从何而来？
Dr Laura Wright, Linguist and BBC presenter(Laura Wright 博士，语言学家和 BBC 主持人)
It starts as a distant hailing: 'I see you miles over there and I've got to yell at you.' It's not until the invention of telephones we really get to use hello as a greeting to each other, and even then it wasn't initially used as a greeting, it was used more as an attention-grabbing device: 'You are miles away, the line is about to be cut, I need to attract the attention of the operator as well.' And so everybody would call 'hello' to each other as this long- distance greeting form.
Laura says 'hello' hasn't always meant 'hello' – originally it was just a shout to attract someone's attention. And we call this kind of shouting hailing.
Laura 说，“hello”并不总是意味着“hello” —— 最初它只是为了吸引某人的注意力而大喊大叫。我们称这种喊叫为欢呼。
Rob(罗伯)
The shout would vary in form – it could sound like a 'hollo'! Or a 'hulloa'!
喊声的形式会有所不同 —— 听起来像“hollo”！或者是“hulloa”！
Catherine(凯瑟 琳)
We continued this kind of hailing when telephones first appeared. People would keep repeating 'hello, hello' while they were waiting to be connected. And before long, this became the actual way to greet somebody on the telephone. Anyway, before we say 'goodbye' to 'hello' – let's have the answer to today's question.
I asked when the word first appeared in print in English. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it was in 1826. Other spellings appeared before that.
Ah, you see – I was thinking English changes really quickly, but not that quickly.
啊，你看 —— 我在想英语变化得非常快，但没那么快。
Rob(罗伯)
Not that quickly.
没那么快。
Catherine(凯瑟 琳)
So before we go, let's have a look at today's vocabulary again. A minefield is something that is full of uncertainty and even danger. This sense comes from the literal meaning – a field full of explosive landmines!
And then we had air-kiss – which is when you kiss the air beside someone's face, instead of the face itself! Like this: mwah.
然后我们有了空气亲吻 —— 也就是你亲吻某人脸旁边的空气，而不是脸本身！就像这样：哇。
Catherine(凯瑟 琳)
And we had bond – a connection. There's a close bond between us I think, Rob.
我们有纽带 —— 一种联系。我认为我们之间有一种紧密的联系，罗伯。
Rob(罗伯)
Which is good, because when I get in a muddle, you're always very understanding!
这很好，因为当我陷入困境时，您总是非常理解！
Catherine(凯瑟 琳)
Yeah.
是的。
Rob(罗伯)
To get in a muddle means to become confused.
To get in a muddle 的意思是变得困惑。
Catherine(凯瑟 琳)
Ritual was another word – rituals are certain behaviours that people perform in certain contexts. I have a morning ritual, for example: brush my teeth, eat breakfast… I didn't say it was an interesting ritual, Rob!
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