Query: Why the plural in Spanish "Buenas dias," etc.? (OT)

[A. Maberry]

Turkish has or had when I first studied it:

iyi geceler (lit. good evenings)
iyi ak,samlar (lit. good nights)
iyi g"unler (good bye; lit. good days)

Why? I've got no idea.

allen
maberry at u.washington.edu


On Sun, 15 Dec 2002, Gerald Cohen wrote:

>     This is off topic, but perhaps someone on the list knows the
> answer: Why does Spanish use the plural for Buenas dias (Good day),
> Buenas tardes (Good afternoon) and Buenas noches (Good night)?  I
> know of no other language that does this.
>
>     Any help would be much appreciated.
>
> Gerald Cohen
>