The Evolution of Hello

In the book Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language, Gretchen McCulloch breaks down the human language from the beginning of time all the way to present day seeing where patterns picked up, words were forgotten, and linguists were able to see how simple words had the ability to influence such a large community. In the specific chapter, “Language and Society,” McCulloch dives into a detailed analysis of why we talk the way we do, compiling three mini sections that include maps, networks, and attitudes that all enbody how and why we are talking the way we do. After reading the chapter and getting a really rich understanding of what the phrase, ‘word travels fast’ really meant, I thought it would be interesting if I took what she found of everything, and narrowed it down to the word ‘hello.’ The word ‘hello’ if you think about it, is the one word that is generally the same amongst all languages, and even as time evolved it had basically stayed the same. But what I thought was interesting was looking at how people’s bodies reacted to ‘hello’ and how their body’s said hello.

I live in the dorms of my college right now and with everyone wearing masks now, saying hello either has to be a very vocal thing or it is a whole body encounter. Some people have really gotten the dad-hand-up-shoulders-scrunched-grunt-hello going and some have the finger-waving-eyebrows-rising-eyes-squinting-hello. Some do nothing at all and hide behind the mask, but they’re still smiling so it still counts, right? I think it still counts.

Masks are literally an introvert’s best friend. But the power of hello is something that is so small yet so valuable and meaningful it has the potential to make or break someone’s day. I remember watching the movie, Joker by Todd Phillips starring Joaquin Phoenix, and how he said at one point that no one said hello to him, people would walk past him and say nothing to him. Or they would look the other way if he said it first, with enthusiasm to better a stranger’s day. There have been studies done about strangers going up to strangers just to say, “hello, you look nice today,” or “hey, I really like your outfit” and walk away. These tiny, tiny interactions made people smile and feel better about themselves.

So going back to how the book relates to the point of my article.

If you watch movies dating before 1960, you will often not just hear the word ‘hello’ when someone is saying hello. Oftentimes, it’ll be ”hello, how are you doing,” or “hello dear, why isn’t it just splendid out today.” Overtime, the interaction of hello has gotten shorter and shorter and social media’s internet wall only makes it feel less and less. The major takeaways that I got from maps, networks, and attitudes of McCulloch’s chapter was essentially this:

“our deep wells of enthusiasm for internet dialect quizzes give us a clue about why: talking in particular ways reinforce our networks, our sense of belonging and community (26). In addition to having some amount of choice in where we live and who we associate with, we also have a certain amount of control over how much we want to be influenced by our interlocutors: who we want to project ourselves to be, linguistically speaking (39) people have been piecing together how various aspects of the human experience are reflected in how we communicate: our geography, our networks, our societies. Age-old linguistic practices like language play and switching between languages and styles are becoming written down and electronic. But the youthful, the vernacular, and the digital sides of language are still too easily overlooked (62).”

Doctor-staff relations really rely on saying hello and interacting with one another because that particular work field is so demanding in graciousness and respect. Toni Bristol has written many articles and journals in doctor-staff relations and handling difficult and awkward situations. She works primarily in vision therapy, which in current times, is very important when we can’t communicate with just our faces anymore. She says it is important to not only focus on improving participating in the workforce but also morale. “Part of a manager’s job is to empower the staff and motivate them to solve problems. Motivating your staff is always a key ingredient in management. One must schedule time each day to communicate with your staff.”

Saying hello allows us to create a warm space, a space where we are inviting but also not totally open. It is the beginning of respect stranger to stranger and where we begin to show friendliness. The more friendly we are, the more welcoming we appear to others. And while it might seem like what others think about us is important, it very much is because it guides us to our friends and the rest of our lives. Hello 200 years ago was more valuable than hello is today, and that is just the way the world is now, but how our body reacts can help to re-create the joy in hello, and not just something that we have to get through. High School and college campus environments all have really cool and interesting things, clothes, ideas, habits, or phrases that are all special to that specific campus and what makes those students to be those students.

In the New York Times article, “Masks Keep Us Safe. They also Hide Our Smiles: Face coverings may be here for a while. How can we adapt to a world where facial expressions are invisible?” The Duchenne smile has been known to reach from ear to ear has been limited to by the masks that are required due to Covid. One could ask if it is so necessary to smile everyday to everyone we see, and the answer is simply yes. Because to each of us, we are all strangers and we do not know if someone depends on a facial reaction or not. For example, many deaf people rely on visual cues like the movements of people’s lives to be able to communicate. Facial expressions help establish what a person is going to be like when they walk up to you or you walk up to them. Adjusting certain things like how loud our voices are so we are not muffling our words, or styling hair in a way that can see both the eyes and ears.

sources:

Chapman University student references and observations

Joker — Directed by Todd Phillips

Bristol, T. (2010). Doctor-staff relations: Don’t underestimate the power of “hello.” Optometry and Vision Development, 41(2), 108–109.

Fortin, Jacey. “Masks Keep Us Safe. They Also Hide Our Smiles.” The New York Times. The New York Times, June 23, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/23/style/face-mask-emotion-coronavirus.html.