Ever say "Hi?"

[Beverly Flanigan]

At 10:33 AM 8/2/2003 -0400, you wrote:
>I would say in my experience in NY State and NJ "hello" is almost never used
>except in a formal situation, like being introduced to an older person for the
>first time.  If I were being introduced to someone in my own generation or
>younger I'd always say "hi".  Also "hi" would would be used to greet students.
>"Hey" for me gets more informal still.  Hello is of course still the
>telephone what you say when you pick up the phone.
>
>Maybe it can be equated with the way you refer to the name of the person
>involved?
>
>Hello, Mr. Johnson---formal, you don't know the person that well--first
>meeting.
>Hi, Dave.    You're a co-worker, see that person a lot, you're friends.
>Hey, Davey-boy!  or Hey, man!  -- you are intimate friends.
>
>Dale Coye
>The College of NJ

Absolutely.  It's not regional, or rural vs. urban, or ethnic, or even
education- or class-based; it's simply a matter of style or register, as
Dale's examples illustrate.  As a former EFL teacher and present teacher
trainer, I'd guess the writer has only learned the register of schoolbook
English, and of an earlier and more prescriptive era in textbook writing as
well.  He was probably also taught English by non-native speakers, who tend
to "go by the book" largely because of their own limited experience with
the language.  But Japan is changing; look for native speaker teachers,
colleagues, and tourists, Yass, and ask them!