Essay The power of greetings By Kip Cates	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
あいさつパワー 外国語を学習する場合、あいさつの言葉をきちんと覚えることは、その国の人たちとよい人間関係を築く上で大切になる。 だから筆者は、外国語学習をあいさつの言葉を覚えることから始めるという。 あいさつには、その言葉を話す人たちの心に触れる不思議なパワーがあるのだ。

One important aspect of speaking a foreign language is knowing how to greet people properly. Greetings are usually taught in the first lesson of a language class. Yet, people often forget how important these are in developing good human relations.

Whenever I begin to study a new language, I always strive to master its greetings. Different languages greet in different ways. Ni hao, bonjour, anyong haseyo, buenos dias, salaam alaikum. Do you know these expressions? Ni hao is Chinese, bonjour is French, anyong haseyo is Korean, buenos dias is Spanish and salaam alaikum is Arabic. Each greeting has its own meaning. Ni hao means "(Are) you good?" Bonjour and buenos dias mean "Good day!" Anyong haseyo means "Be peaceful." Salaam alaikum means "Peace be upon you." Each time you greet someone in Korean or Arabic, you wish them peace. What a nice idea!

English greetings range from formal (how do you do) and polite (hello) to informal (hi), casual (hey) and colloquial (howdy). What about Japanese? Many people are puzzled by the greeting konnichi wa. It just means "Today"!

Greetings can be fun to learn and use. Soon after my wife and I started working at Tottori University, we began holding welcome parties for new foreign students. Each year, we invited people from Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. When my son was about four years old, I decided to start his education as a world citizen by training him to greet people in different languages.

To do this, I made it into a game. "Let's learn some secret passwords," I told him. "When I say the word Chinese, you say ni hao. When I say the word French, you say bonjour. When I say Korean, you say anyong haseyo. And when I say Spanish, you say buenos dias." We practiced these "secret passwords" for two weeks before our next welcome party.

The first student to arrive at the party was from France. "Jean-Paul speaks French," I told my son. On hearing the word French, he called out "Bonjour" just as we'd practiced. Jean-Paul was pleased. "Wow! Your son speaks French!" For the next 20 minutes, my son greeted each new student in their own language. "Mr. Wang is Chinese." "Ni hao!" "Juan speaks Spanish." "Buenos dias!" "Mi Sook is Korean." "Anyong haseyo!" Everyone was impressed!

Greetings are magic expressions that have the power to touch others. Say salaam alaikum to a group of Arabs and watch how smiles of joy, surprise and curiosity come over their faces. You know our language! Where did you learn it? Greeting people in their own language shows your interest in their culture. Learning a foreign greeting is a way of showing friendship, politeness and respect. Why not learn some new greetings today?

Shukan ST: October 7, 2011

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