Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: how are you? e simili

Look who's back!
Qua alla cassa di qualunque negozio chiedono bene e spesso "how are 
you?", "how's your day?" come se mi conoscessero da una vita. Non mi 
sembrava che in UK facessero altrettanto, solo un essenziale "next 
please!".  Cosa dovrei rispondere? Alcuni ho visto che non dicono 
niente, altri rispondono normalmente.
Ciao,
Enrico il Pentolaio.

 niente, altri rispondono normalmente.
Come ti gira... se � carina attacca bottone (che te lo dico a fare :-D?)
In ufficio era impossibile incrociare qualcuno senza che ti dicesse 
"how're you doing?" e il bello � che non aspettava mai la risposta, ma 
tirava dritto. All'inizio era abbastanza sorprendente!

):

Hooray! Nice to have you back!
To answer your question:
You're expected to respond cryptically, falsely, and then move on.
In other words, acceptable answers are:
Fine.  (No matter what.)
Good.  (No matter what.)
Ok.  (No matter what.)
Eh.  (No matter what. Unless you feel GREAT, then use one of the above.)
Do NOT under ANY circumstances EVER tell ANYone HOW you REALLY ARE!!
(They dont really want to know.)
(I hope you recognize the sarcasm....)
Seriously, It's a way of saying 'hello" in most of the circumstances like the 
one you describe.
You ARE allowed to follow your response (provided you have chosen from the 
first three in the above list) with "[And] You?"
If your answer is "Eh," no further comment is necessary.
Benvenuto in Amurrca!
-- 
Joe/Joey da New York

 Benvenuto in Amurrca!
Could I answer "Standing." (or "Sitting.") to the "How are you?"
question?
-- 
ï¿œï¿œï¿œ
 O 

 wrote in
message news:h7h3os$r91$2...@aioe.org...

Some years ago a young journalist commented in the "Giornale di Vicenza",
addressing the American soldiers he met around the city, saying "lo
attraversate di corsa, regalando incredibilmente un saluto a tutti: 'morning
sir, hi, hallo'...". He was implying that no proper Vicentino would address
a stranger, but these young American soldiers impressed him with their
friendliness and openness.
I usually just say "Not too bad", or "Pretty good", followed by "and you?"
or "and yourself?". Of course, you can never say you're having a bad day.
Have you seen the Sunday New York Times yet? If not, you should pick one up
Sunday. It's really three publications in one - the newspaper, the NY Times
Magazine, and the  Book Review. Take it over to Starbucks, and go on line,
and spend the day reading the paper. It will take the full day. You have to
do the crossword puzzle at least once, but I wouldn't advise trying it just
yet.
Why are there no Starbucks in Italy?
Wouldn't you know that just when you got to the US, RAI quit making their
archived programs available over the Internet. You can't even view the
Telegiornali. I don't know if they are having problems, or if they have
decided to prevent people from outside Italy from viewing RAI.
I have turned to relying on Don Silvio for my Italian news now.
http://www.tgcom.mediaset.it/tg5/
Joe from Massachusetts

 tirava dritto. All'inizio era abbastanza sorprendente!
Lo immagino!
:-D
Ciao,
Enrico il Pentolaio, che sta cenando alle 9pm con un herb chicken 
vegetable rice, cotto nel microonde.

 Benvenuto in Amurrca!
Grazieeee!
Ciao,
Enrico il Pentolaio.
P.S. Ma le americane quanti "like" infilano in una frase? Questo per� mi 
sembra di averlo notato anche a Londra l'anno scorso... not sure, though.

 
http://www.tgcom.mediaset.it/tg5/
Some people say minzolini's tg1 is even worse than tg5, so...
Ciao,
Enrico il Pentolaio.

 you?", "how's your day?" come se mi conoscessero da una vita. 
si chiama 'emotional labor'. � piuttosto sgamato negli USA ed � 
considerato 'phoney'
da Wikipedia:
'Emotional labor is a form of emotional regulation wherein workers are 
expected to display certain emotions as part of their job, and to 
promote organizational goals. The intended effects of these emotional 
displays are on other, targeted people, who can be clients, customers, 
subordinates or co-workers.'

):

That might sound odd, but if anyone ever asks you "How did you sleep [last 
night]?" the correct answer is "Lying down."


 sembra di averlo notato anche a Londra l'anno scorso... not sure, though.
Yeah, but don't, like, adopt that habit. It's, like, the WORST!


 
LOL. When i walk into the local Staples store (electronics, office supplies, 
stationery, etc.) every single staff member who passes says "HELLO!" 
including the three or four cashiers who are stationed by the entrance.
So walking in consists, of "Hi!" "Hi!""Hi!""Hi!" and then as I travel through 
the aisles another few "Hi!""Hi!""Hi!"s are the norm.
I end up feeling HI! from it.


 wrote in
message news:h7id57$55n$1...@aioe.org...
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It was the same when I was learning Italian in Vicenza. It seemed that every
sentence had to contain a "porco d**" or a "d** can". Fortunately, I avoided
picking up that habit, but I think I would prefer the bestemmie to a
conversation laced with "likes".   ;>)
Joe from Massachusetts

 sembra di averlo notato anche a Londra l'anno scorso... not sure, though.
Inftti, si usa molto anche qui a Londra. Lo uso anch'io, fin troppo ammetto.

 troppo ammetto.
E "youknow"?


 E "youknow"?
Almeno quello di vizio non l'ho preso. :)


Why don't you tell that to him here?
http://www.facebook.com/people/Augusto-Minzolini/100000016454965
.
Joe from Massachusetts

 P.S. Ma le americane quanti "like" infilano in una frase? 
Macch� americane, *tutti* qua parlano cos�. Mi d� un fastidio della 
madonna. Oggi sono stato attento alle conversazioni che sentivo per 
strada, e non ce n'era uno che non infilasse almeno un "like" per ogni 
verbo che usava. Sembra che non riescano a dire una frase di senso 
compiuto dall'inizio alla fine...
:-(
Ciao,
Enrico il Pentolaio.

 conversation laced with "likes".   ;>)
Sono due cose diverse. La bestemmia, a chi non d� fastidio, pu� servire 
a rafforzare il significato di una frase, esprimere stupore, fastidio, 
rabbia, ecc ecc. "Like" a me d� l'impressione di essere usato perch� non 
si � capaci di tirare dritto con la stessa frase.
Ciao,
Enrico il Pentolaio.

 Did you notice the greeters as you entered the Wal-mart?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8zNsUTWsOc
 
-- 
Anna

 compiuto dall'inizio alla fine...
The correlation is highest with youth, lack of education, and lack of 
intelligence. Let's hope they grow out of it, get in the habit of 
studying, and learn how to think.

 si � capaci di tirare dritto con la stessa frase.
Potremmo paragonarlo al nostro "cio�", o "ecco".


Preferisco "allora."

 wrote in message
news:h7lmrl$e6b$1...@news.eternal-september.org...

I like the direct translation "come".
Joe from Massachusetts

 
http://www.facebook.com/people/Augusto-Minzolini/100000016454965
.
Oh come on, that can't be him...
:-o
Ciao,
Enrico il Pentolaio.

 wrote in message
news:wv91vy48rx6n$.lqjfbjossgur.dlg@40tude.net...
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The "greeters" at "membership" stores, such as BJ's, Sam's Club and Costco,
actually have a function. Their job is to check membership cards as shoppers
enter the store. Wal-mart does not require membership, so the only function
of the "greeter" at Wal-mart is to say hello to everyone who enters the
store. All of the Wal-mart "greeters" are senior citizens, while most of the
"greeters" at the membership stores are not senior citizens.
Joe from Massachusetts


So you've given up on improving your English and will be hanging out with
other Italians? Do you speak English or Italian (or Romagnolo) with them?
I would never speak Italian with anyone other than an Italian native
speaker, unless it was the only language by which we could communicate, and
if you want to improve your English, you should try to speak English with
native speakers almost exclusively while you're here.
Even when I had been in Italy for years, and spoke fluent Italian, I always
carried my little portable Italian dictionary, both when at work and when
out on the town, because there was always something to learn.
You might be interested in visiting this church in the Chicago area.
http://tinyurl.com/l7n3fm
Joe from Massachusetts

Tony The Ice Man ha scritto:

Hmmm... dalle mie parti "allora" non � molto usato come intercalare e 
messo a capocchia nelle frasi. Sentivo pi� spesso "cio�", soprattutto 
tra i pi� giovani.

 
http://tinyurl.com/l7n3fm
Why should I be going to a Catholic Church? Or to a church at all?
:-D
Ciao,
Enrico il Pentolaio.


I just thought you'd appreciate seeing the name "Eulalia".  :>)
RAI TV is back online, more or less, for us "stranieri". I guess they had
problems with their servers, what with having to have different security for
"live" programs for Italians and archived programs for the rest of us.
Joe from Massachusetts

 speaker, unless it was the only language by which we could communicate
I've spoken Italian with people who also spoke English when Italian
was
a better choice than English since, say, both of us spoke Italian
better than the other person spoke English. Also, in group situations
where everyone present spoke Italian but not everyone spoke English.
I don't speak any other languages well enough for anything other than
English or Italian to be a sane choice but I suppose I could imagine
using French or German to communicate with someone who spoke
Italian and English, but both so badly that even my French or German
would make communication easier. I am not sure what we'd ever
manage to communicate in that situation, however. "potato... good",
perhaps.

 "live" programs for Italians and archived programs for the rest of us.
That's good news. Enjoy your Minzolini, then!


 Macch� americane, *tutti* qua parlano cos�. Mi d� un fastidio della 
[...]
Appro'...
Gi� che sei da quelle parti e visto mi fido del tuo buon orecchio
musicale, mi scopriresti quanto sia realmente diffuso il cosiddetto
Northern Cities Vowel Shift che porterebbe a pronunciare "Ann" come
"Ian" e altre stranezze? :)
Vedi per es. 
http://www.pbs.org/speak/ahead/change/changin/summary/
 

 "greeters" at the membership stores are not senior citizens.
I see. Grazie, Joe, sei sempre molto informativo :)
La trovo comunque una raggelante ipocrisia. E consiglio a tutti di vedere
Idiocracy, un film geniale e sottovalutato.
-- 
Anna

 
http://www.pbs.org/speak/ahead/change/changin/summary/
Uh, non ne sapevo niente! Dopodomani vado nella citt� ventosa, provo a 
prestarci attenzione, allora.
:-)
Ciao,
Enrico il Pentolaio.

 "Ian" e altre stranezze? :)
Sounds to me like some black accent. Puo' essere?
Ciao,
Enrico il Pentolaio.

> Giï¿œ che sei da quelle parti e visto mi fido del tuo buon orecchio

Not at all. It's just the flat, broad open A, made even more so because of 
the nasal N following it.


 Enrico il Pentolaio.
To pray for salvation?  :-P


 To pray for salvation?  :-P
Well, I got a free copy of the New Testament only yesterday.:-))
Ciao,
Enrico il Pentolaio.
-- 
La parola tradisce l'ossessione (Baudelaire)

 Inftti, si usa molto anche qui a Londra. Lo uso anch'io, fin troppo ammetto.
In fin dei conti il "like" da ragazza-della-valle equivale
funzionalmente al pi� nobile "if you will", infilato qua e l� da chi
parla pi� "fino" ;-)
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/000138.html
Why are the old fogeys and usage whiners of the world so upset about the epistemic-hedging use of like, as in She's, like, so cool? The old fogeys use equivalent devices themselves, all the time. An extremely common one is "if you will". Semantically it does exactly what like does. Let me explain.
[...]

 niente, altri rispondono normalmente.
Beh, sono domande retoriche, non poi molto diverse da quelle che
usiamo in italiano: se qualcuno ti chiede "Come va?" non si aspetta
certo che tu ti metta veramente a raccontargli il tuo stato d'animo o
la tua cartella clinica... È una domanda a cui si risponde sempre
"Tutto bene, grazie", anche se magari hai appena comprato la corda per
impiccarti.
Pensa che in cinese uno dei saluti più comuni è "Chi le ma?" (= "Hai
mangiato?"), a cui ovviamente si risponde sempre "Chi le!" (= "Sì, ho
magiato"), anche se magari stai per entrare in un ristorante in quel
momento.
--
Cingar

 sembra di averlo notato anche a Londra l'anno scorso... not sure, though.
In addition to the use of "like" as a sort of interjection, a more viral use 
of it is to indicate the action of expressing something. That action can be 
spoken, felt, implied, inferred, etc.
-- She told me I had to pay her back. I'm like (1), "why should I pay you 
back?" She's like (1), "because you borrowed the money; I didn't give it to 
you." I"m like (2) you gotta be kidding. (1) I" have to pay you back?" She's 
like, (1) "well?"
Later, she's like (3) all over the campus telling everyone I stole from her.
(1) spoken dialog
(2) a thought
(3) action
*I'm like = I said; I thought; I meant; I felt; I wondered, etc.
*Don't get into this habit. It's contagious and horrid.


 Enrico il Pentolaio.
ciao
Gennaro

 Parlaci degli  <<afternoon orientation trips to Wal-Mart>> !!!!!
AFAIK, there wasn't any!  I had to go to Walmart on my own on a stupid 
bus which took 30 mins to get there.
Ciao,
Enrico il Pentolaio.

):

And then when you got there you saw things like this (which made every minute 
of that bus trip worthwhile):
http://peopleofwalmart.com/?paged=6


 
http://peopleofwalmart.com/?paged=6
LOL! So don't complain if I get too judgemental about you people.
:-D


 Parlaci degli  <<afternoon orientation trips to Wal-Mart>> !!!!!
Yeah, screw Walmart. La bici che ho comprato l� aveva i freni consumati 
gi� il giorno dopo. Poi l'altro ieri � partito un pedale...


 momento.
Ah! Grazie, pu� tornarmi utile. I have never seen so many Asians in my 
whole life!
:-D


 gi� il giorno dopo. Poi l'altro ieri � partito un pedale...
How much did you pay it?

 How much did you pay it?
$79.


 "Ian" e altre stranezze? :)
Ho "barato" e ho chiesto direttamente a uno di Chicago. La descrizione a 
parole ï¿½ esattamente quella di Joey. Secondo il tizio interpellato, 
c'era un grossa differenza fra le due pronunce... io sinceramente, se 
non me lo avesse detto lui, non me ne sarei mai accorto. E' comunque 
parecchio fuorviante quello che dice l'articolo come esempio (had 
[pronunced]like ï¿½heeyud.ï¿½). Io mi aspettavo infatti tutt'altra cosa, 
invece era solo una "a" che non era immediatamente una "a" secca e 
precisa, ma qualcosa di leggermente diverso.


 momento.
Io risponderei "Chi l'� chi non l'�, maintenant je v� a magn�"
-- 
Egerth�sontai g�r pseud�christoi ka� pseudoprof�tai, ka� d�sousin seme�a
meg�la ka� t�rata h�ste plan�sai, ei dunat�n, ka� to�s eklekto�s:
ido� proe�reka hum�n. (Euagg�lion kat� Mattha�on 24,24-25)
surgent enim pseudochristi et pseudoprophetae et dabunt signa magna
et prodigia ita ut in errorem inducantur, si fieri potest, etiam
electi: ecce praedixi vobis

 How much did you pay it?
Anzi 'for it'.

 How much did you pay it?
How much did you pay for it?  :)


 precisa, ma qualcosa di leggermente diverso.
Grazie del reportage! :-)
In effetti da quell'articolo ci si aspetterebbe un Vowel Shift più
spettacolare!

 wrote in
message news:h7oj48$4cn$1...@aioe.org...
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The "Saturday Night Live" TV show poked fun at the Chicago accent with a
regular skit called "Da Bears".
http://69.16.184.140/a6w6r9m5/cds/content/s/snl-dachicagobears.flv?dopvhost=media.evtv1.com&doppl=19d358c75371b82e&dopsig=036dafcf99e05fae2055613faf50f2a1
Joe from Massachusetts

 wrote in
message news:h7oj48$4cn$1...@aioe.org...

Years ago, before the Internet, in a gesture of support for American
soldiers serving overseas, the publisher of the Chicago Tribune newspaper
offered a free subscription to the Sunday edition of the newspaper to any
soldier serving overseas who wrote to the newspaper requesting it. The
result was overwhelming. Each Saturday, a stack of Chicago Tribunes would
appear outside mail rooms all over Europe and Asia. There was a problem,
though. The soldiers never cancelled their subscriptions, so the stack of
newspapers increased every week, as more and more soldiers requested
subscriptions, and no one cancelled their subscription. Most of them would
be thrown away, as the number of newspapers exceeded the number of readers.
It was a nice gesture which got out of hand.
Joe from Massachusetts

 wrote in message
news:DINom.156260$O23....@newsfe11.iad...

One of the major radio and TV stations in Chicago is WGN,  owned by the
Tribune Corporation. The call letters stand for "World's Greatest
Newspaper".
Joe from Massachusetts

 How much did you pay for it?  :)
E' uguale, me la sono presa nel didietro anche senza il "for". E ti 
assicuro che non fa meno male!
:-D


 assicuro che non fa meno male!
Ok, that might lead to some confusion. "For" is necessary, I was joking!


 there.
On top of that, they have crap bikes...


 Yeah, but don't, like, adopt that habit. It's, like, the WORST!
Within 10 years, the space bar in the US keyboard will be replaced by a 
more appropriate " - like -" bar.


 
I  LIKE that idea!
-- 
Joe/Joey da New York
English as she is spoken (and sometimes written) in the US