Научно-исследовательская работа по английскому языку на тему The importance of greeting

Муниципальное казенное общеобразовательное учреждение лицей№11

г. Россоши Воронежской области

Научно-практическая конференция по английскому языку

«Я - исследователь»

Секция « Лингвистика»

The importance of greeting

Выполнила:

ученица 9 «Б» класса

МКОУ лицей №11

Вяльцева Надежда Юрьевна

Руководитель:

учитель английского языка IКК

Ковалева Ольга Юрьевна

Россошь

2016 г

Contents

Introduction………………………………………………………………..3

1.1. The meaning of greeting ……………………………………………..4

1.2. Different ways of greeting people……………………………………5

1.3. How to greet people in different countries. ……………………………6

1.4. Weird and wonderful greetings ………………………………………..9

1.5. The different hand gestures around the world…………………………12

1.6. World Hello Day ……………………………………………………...13

2. My survey …………………………………………………………….... 13

Conclusion …………………………………………………………………15

Bibliography ……………………………………………………………….16

Introduction

Our planet is great. Billions of people inhabit it. Travelling all over the world gets easier and easier. This life gives us so many opportunities to meet different people and interact with them. Hello is probably the first word that comes out of our mouth while starting a friendly conversation. Every country has its own history and culture. So we all are different. That's why we sometimes don't understand each other well when we first meet .There are many ways of greeting people. It depends on many things: your nationality, and culture, how well you know the person, your relative edges, and your gender. The theme of my project is «The importance of greeting». This theme is very interesting for me. I hope my work will give an opportunity to learn some of the most famous greeting in the world and it will be very useful for students and teachers too.

The object of the research work is greeting among people.

The hypothesis of the research is the importance to say hello.

The main aims of my work are:

-to find some information about greeting;

-to identify and learn how to greet people in different countries;

-to explore different ways of greeting people;

-to do an experiment among students;

-to analyze and compare the results of the research work which

I have made among the people of our lyceum.

The methods used in the research work are:

-the method of collecting information in books and in the Internet;

- conducting a survey among the classmates;

-comparison.

1.1.The meaning of greeting

Greeting is an act of communication in which human beings intentionally make their presence known to each other, to show attention to, and to suggest a type of relationship (usually cordial) or social status (formal or informal) between individuals or groups of people coming in contact with each other. Greetings are a socialization behavior that most people take for granted because greetings are so pervasive in society. Greetings sometimes are used just prior to a conversation or to greet in passing, such as on a sidewalk or trail. Greetings can be expressed both audibly and physically, and often involve a combination of the two. Greetings, or salutations are part of our face-to-face contact, phone conversations, letters and emails. Some epochs and cultures have had very elaborate greeting rituals, for example, greeting of a sovereign. Conversely, secret societies have often furtive or arcane greeting gestures and rituals, such as a secret handshake, which allow members to recognize each other. In some languages and cultures, the same word or gesture is used as both greeting and farewell. Examples are "Good day" in English, "Aloha" in Hawaiian, "Shalom" in Hebrew, "Namaste" in Hindi and "Ciao" in Italian. The bow and handshake are also used for both greeting and leave taking. Historically, when men normally wore hats out of doors, male greetings to people they knew, and sometimes those they did not, involved touching, raising slightly ("tipping"), or removing their hat in a variety of gestures. This basic gesture remained normal in very many situations from the Middle Ages until men typically ceased wearing hats in the mid-20th century. Hat-raising began with an element of recognition of superiority, where only the socially inferior party might perform it, but gradually lost this element; King Louis XIV of France made a point of at least touching his hat to all women he encountered. However the gesture was never used by women, for whom their head-covering included considerations of modesty. When a man was not wearing a hat he might touch his hair to the side of the front of his head to replicate a hat tipping gesture. This was typically performed by lower class men to social superiors, such as peasants to the land-owner, and is known as "tugging the forelock", which still sometimes occurs as a metaphor for submissive behaviour.

1.2. Different ways of greeting people

The Casual Verbal Greeting

Examples of a casual verbal greeting include "Hi," "Hello" or colloquialisms such as "Howdy" or "Yo." Sometimes the casual greeting can begin with a short question such as "What's up?","How's it going?" or "How are you?" A person giving one of these question greetings does not usually expect an accurate answer. A simple "Fine," "Not too bad" or another neutral answer usually suffices, before the second greeter then returns the question. Usually the greeters also incorporate a smile that reaches to the eyes as part of a casual greeting. This is to indicate to the other person that the greeter is pleased to see him. A casual verbal greeting may also be prefaced by a casual nonverbal greeting.

The Formal Verbal Greeting

Formal verbal greetings are generally longer than a casual greeting and usually combine two or more individual types of greetings. For example, if a businessman greets another businessman, he will shake his hand, say "Hello" and ask a question such as "How are you?" or introduce himself and give his business title or job role. A formal greeting may also depend on the status of the people involved in the greeting. An older or superior person may also touch a younger person or a person of inferior status on the shoulder in a paternal way. An interviewee should also stand up before shaking hands with his interviewers.

Nonverbal Greeting

Sometimes people give each other nonverbal greetings. This can be due to the fact that the two people are too far away from each other to hear a spoken greeting but still wish to acknowledge each other. Sometimes a person will give a nonverbal greeting to another person if she is devoting a lot of attention to a task. For example, someone who's on the phone may not wish to interrupt the conversation by saying hello, so she gives the newcomer a nonverbal sign of greeting. Examples of nonverbal greetings include a wave of the hand with the palm facing out, a hand wave with the fingers moving down repetitively to the palm and back (usually given to young children), a wink of the eye or a simple smile and eye contact. Other nonverbal signs that greeters perform are part of the greeting ritual. For example, men commonly shake hands with each other or give each other a pat on the back. Women may give each other a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Women greeting men and men greeting women may also hug and kiss each other on the cheek, especially if they are related. Adults greeting children may give them a hug, or even pick them up and swing them around.

1.3. How to greet people in different countries

How do people greet one another around the world? A kiss, a hug, a handshake, a bow: one of these, or something different, could be the proper way to greet someone depending on their country and culture.

What Do Greetings Have in Common?

Have you ever stood at the international terminal of an airport and watched people greeting their loved ones as they come into sight after a long airplane journey? It doesn't take long observing people from different countries to recognize that not every culture greets the same way. You will see some groups of people exclaiming loudly, hugging and kissing, while you will see others bowing down to touch one another's feet. Interpreting body language associated with greetings varies widely from culture to culture. Understanding body language shows all greetings have some elements in common. First, greetings usually involve some kind of spoken language. Second, greetings usually involve some type of body language especially between close friends or family who are being reunited.

What Elements of Greetings Tend to Vary?

Greetings are used worldwide, but types of greeting, and the usages of them, can be very different depending on the culture of the ones greeting each other. Body language and cultural differences mean the words used to greet people are different, and so are the actions that accompany the words.

Even within a culture, greetings have many forms. Two people may greet each other differently depending on familiarity, whether they are acquaintances or closer friends. In addition, greetings can depend on the social status, ranking, or respect level of the people greeting one another (for example, a younger person may greet in a particular way to show deference to an older).

Although it may be difficult to learn precisely how you should greet every person in a given culture, it is at the very least a good idea to know a general greeting before you visit a new country. Never assume that the way you are used to greeting people will be normal in the place you are going. For example, while it is normal for friends to hug each other in the United States, this greeting is considered very intimate by the French; but, on the other hand, many Americans are uncomfortable with the double-kiss-on-the-cheeks greeting used by the French. So before you visit a new country, try to familiarize yourself with their greetings and the appropriate body language for greetings.

In the USA, it is normal for men to shake hands when they meet, but it is quite unusual for men to kiss when they greet each other. Greetings are casual - a handshake, a smile and a 'hello' will do just fine.

The British people often simply say 'hello' when they meet friends. They usually shake hands only when they meet for the first time. Social kissing, often just a peck on the cheek, is common in an informal situation between men and women and also between women who know each other very well.

French people, including children, shake hands with their friends and often kiss them on both cheeks, both upon meeting and leaving.

In Japan, the common greeting for men and women as well is to bow when they greet someone, as opposed to giving a casual handshake or a hug.

In Arab countries, close male friends or colleagues hug and kiss both cheeks. They shake hands with the right hand only, for longer but less firmly than in the West. Contact between the opposite genders in public is considered obscene. Do not offer to shake hands with the opposite sex.

In Hungarians people use the friendly greeting form of kissing each other on the cheeks. The most common way is to kiss from your right to your left. When men meet for the first time, the casual norm is a firm handshake.

In Belgium, people kiss on the cheek when they meet, regardless of the gender or how well they know each other.

In Russia, the typical greeting is a very firm handshake. Assume you're trying to crush each other knuckles, all the while maintaining direct eye contact. When men shake hands with women, the handshake is less industrial. It is considered gallant to kiss women three times while alternating cheeks, and even to kiss hands. There are some ways of greeting people in different situations. To greet a person you know well, say zdravstvuj (Hello) or privyet! (Hi!). To greet people you don't know well (or a group of people), say zdravstvujtye (Hello).Here are some other ways to greet people, depending on what time of day it is:Dobroye utro! (Good morning!).Dobryj dyen'! (Good afternoon!). Dobryj vyechyer! (Good evening!) Greetings and introductions are usually accompanied by a "How are you?" The most common ways to ask how someone is doing are: Kak dyela? (How are you? informal). Kak vy pozhivayetye? (How are you? formal)

In Albania, men shake hands when greeting one another. Depending on how close the men are with each other, a kiss on each cheek may be common as well. When a man meets a female relative, a kiss on each cheek, or two per cheek, is common. With friends or colleagues, normally a light handshake will do. Women may shake hands or kiss each other on both cheeks.

In Armenia, by tradition, and especially in the rural areas, a woman needs to wait for the man to offer his hand for the handshake. Between good friends and family members, a kiss on the cheek and a light hug are also common.

The Inuit, who live in Canada, rub noses.

In Turkey you should shake hands and don't worry if you don't share any language. Talk confidently as if you understand each other and hope someone nearby will translate. Try to discontinue extensive conversation when you have no common language. When you meet guys you know, take their hand and touch your left temples together, followed by touching your right temples.

In Uganda you should allow people to wonder what you are doing there, and then let children follow you for a few kilometres as you walk through grassland. When you say hello, they'll laugh and nervously greet you. Despite all this, they are some of the kindest, friendliest people that you could hope to meet and all their actions are motivated my innocent interest.

In India, people say Namaste while pressing both your palms together, fingers touching one another and pointing upward and making a simple bow. Namasti is indicative of obedience on the part of one person towards the other being.

In Mongolia when people greet each other they will offer their snuff bottles in the upturned palm of their fight hand with the lid partially opened.

In Saudi Arabia, people hug and kiss hands or eye as a form of greeting. This portrays love and affection among people.

1.4. Weird and wonderful greetings

Many travellers have found a lot of weird greetings around the world. They visited our Pacific neighbours in order to know about the traditional Maori welcoming custom as the hongi. An ancient tradition, the hongi involves the rubbing or touching of noses when two people meet. It is a symbolic act referred to as the 'ha' or the 'breath of life', which is considered to come directly from the gods. Tip: Keep your eyes open to avoid misjudging the distance or you could be in for a rather awkward moment, not to mention a very sore nose.

Tibet. It might be bad manners anywhere else in the world, but in Tibet poking out one's tongue is the customary way to welcome people. The tradition dates back to the 9th century during the time of a vicious Tibetan king known as Lang Darma, who had a black tongue. The Tibetan people feared that King Darma would be reincarnated so they began greeting each other by sticking out their tongue to prove that they weren't evil. The tradition continues today and is often accompanied by the person placing their palms down in front of their chest.

Tuvalu. The traditional welcome at the Polynesian island of Tuvalu involves pressing one's face to the other person's cheek and then taking a deep sniff.

Tip: Follow the locals' lead and avoid eating onions before arriving on the island.

Mongolia. When welcoming an unfamiliar guest into their home, a Mongol will present the guest with a hada - a strip of silk or cotton. If you are lucky enough to be presented with a hada, you should grasp it gently in both hands while bowing slightly. The giving or receiving of hada, as well as the act of bowing to each other, is an outward sign of mutual respect, something that is very important in Mongolian culture.Tip: Depending on what region of Mongolia you visit, the trading of pipes for smoking and the exchange of snuffboxes is also quite common.

Kenya.In Kenya, the Maasai, will enjoy their vibrant welcoming dance. The Maasai dance is called adamu, the jumping dance, and is performed by the warriors of the tribe. Traditionally the dance begins by telling a story and concludes with dancers forming a circle and competing to jump the highest, demonstrating to visitors the strength and bravery of the tribe. Tip: Be prepared, often a blend of cow's milk and blood can be offered to visitors as an addition to the welcoming dance.

Greenland. In many parts of the Arctic, including Greenland, the traditional greeting by the Inuit people, or Eskimos, is known as a kunik. The traditional kunik is mainly used among family members and loved ones and involves one person pressing their nose and upper lip against the other person's skin and breathing. Westerns have adopted the tradition of the Eskimo kiss in which two people rub their noses together. Tip: Make sure you don't have a runny nose when doing the kunik in freezing temperatures or you might just find yourself getting stuck to the person you are greeting.

China. The traditional welcome in China is referred to as the kowtow, a custom which involves folding hands, bowing, and if you're a female making a wanfu, which involves the folding and moving of hands down by the side of the body.

The kowtow can be traced back as early as the legendary Emperor Xuan Yuan.

Tip: Although the kowtow custom is not commonly practised these days, folding of the hands is still widely used and respected.

Thailand. The Thai greeting referred to as the wai is a graceful tradition and requires one to take a slight bow of the body and head with palms pressed together in a prayer-like fashion and say «Sawaddee». Travellers visiting Thailand will notice that hand positions can change: the higher the hands in relationship to the face the more respect the giver of the wai is showing. Tip: Performing the wai might feel strange at first, but you'll soon start to embrace the tradition and come to enjoy greeting people in the traditional Thai way.

Philippines. Travellers visiting the Philippines will have the opportunity to witness one of the more unique welcoming customs. When a younger person greets an older person they must bow a little, grab the elderly person's right hand with their right hand, allowing their knuckles to touch the elder person's forehead. Tip: Be gentle when touching the older person's head with your knuckles, you don't want to give them a 'knuckle head'.

Greece. In Greece a slap on the back often takes place instead of shaking hands. Be careful when you greet someone with a slap on the back…

Mozambique. People from the northern parts of the country clap their hands three times before saying hello.

Oman. In Oman you usually shake hands, but some men might kiss you on the nose.

Singapore. Here the greeters slide their palms together back, towards their own chest, then end with the hands over the heart.

Zambia. In Zambia some people greet each other by squeezing a thumb.

Bangladesh. When you greet someone here you have to do a relaxed salute with your right hand.

Morocco. It's shown as a sign of respect if you kiss your hand and then put it on your grandparent's forehead or kiss the forehead.

1.5. The different hand gestures around the world

Before visiting a foreign country, it is recommended to check on the various meaning of hand gestures, as a visitor may inadvertently find himself in a very unpleasant situation. Here is why:

Waving your full arm side to side in many countries is recognized as saying 'hello' or 'goodbye'. However, in East Asian countries it is considered overly demonstrative. Additionally in some European countries, as well as Japan and Latin America, it can be confused for a 'no' or general negative response. In India, it means 'come here'.

Counting with fingers starting with index finger toward the pinkie can make people confused in Germany and Austria as forefinger held up means two instead of one, especially when ordering a round of drinks. In Japan, the thumb alone means five. When Hungarians count on their hand, they start with the thumb being number one.

Curling the index finger, or four fingers toward you as a gesture of inviting somebody to come closer, can be mistaken for 'good bye' in southern Europe. In Philippines and East Asia, curling the index finger is used only to beckon dogs.

Pointing directly to someone or something using index finger in Europe is considered impolite. In China, Japan, Latin America and Indonesia it has very rude connotations. In many African countries, the index finger is used for pointing only at inanimate objects.

Gestures can say more than words, and just as we are usually very careful when using foreign languages, we should consider carefully what hand gestures we should display whilst in different cultures. The world is indeed full of diversities, so enjoy your learning.

1.6. World Hello Day

November, 21 is the annual World Hello Day. Anyone can participate in World Hello Day simply by greeting ten people. The purpose of World Hello Day is simple - to encourage communication and dialogue between people of different backgrounds in order to achieve peace and understanding. This unofficial holiday was created by Brian and Michael McCormack as a response to the Yom Kippur War between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria in 1973. World Hello Day is celebrated by people in 180 countries. People around the world use the occasion of World Hello Day as an opportunity to express their concern for world peace. The World Hello Day web site address is worldhelloday.org.

2. My survey

In the second part of my survey work I wanted to test the hypothesis «Is it important to say Hello? » In my project I used the following methods and ways: work with reference, scientific and popular literature, and work with dictionaries; collecting and analysis of information; choosing and systematization of illustrative examples. This activity was new and absorbing for me. I tried to do a kind of scientific research in such a complicated branch as linguistic. The most difficult thing for me was to work with literature in English and unilingual dictionaries as my knowledge of this language is not on the sufficient level yet.

My project work had a very definite practical meaning. I presented it at our English lessons in a form of a short presentation and excited the curiosity of my classmates. I told them about such things they had never heard before.

Students who answered my questions were between the ages of 13 - 16years. (A survey method has become a leading company in research and practical work. I suggested that the students answer the following questions:

1. What kinds of greeting do you use in your daily routine?

2. Do you welcome your teachers, parents, friends?

3. What is the word «Hello»?

4. Is it important to greet people?

5. Do you worry if your friends, acquaintances, relatives do not greet you?

6. Do you know how people greet each other in different countries?

7. When is World Hello Day?

We were interested to know which kinds of greetings students use in their speech, they always respond to greetings. We used the methods of observation and questioning. We interviewed students from 7th to 11th grades «School №11» Rossosh town, Voronezh region. Observation, analysis of questionnaire data showed that all participants use different kinds of welcome such as Good morning, Morning!, Good afternoon ,Good evening, Hey, What's up?, How's it going?, Well hello!, Why hello there.,Yo.,Greetings!, Look who it is! Moreover, 83.4% of students believe that greetings are needed, the percentage of children positively answered the question about the need to increase greetings from 7 to 11 classes. 80% of students welcome their teachers "Good morning".17% of students say "Hello (Zdraste)", 3% don't welcome the teachers. Observations show that students of all ages, welcoming teachers, call them by name. It is a sign of respect. Students welcome their parents using "hello" (96%), 4% of them use non-verbal greetings - hugs, kisses. Among the friends, the first place is "hello" (54%), then "zdravstvuy" (17%), colloquial greeting "zdorovo" (14%), shaking hands (7%), hugs and kisses (5%), "hello" and "hi" (1.9%), "salute" (0.9%), the wave of a hand, a nod, "respect" (0.5%). It was interesting to know about the meaning of «hello». 74% students say that we wish health, prosperity, a good day and success in work. 26 % - don't know the meaning of the word. 87% of students think that people should greeting each other. Greeting - it is an integral part of communication. 13% of students believe they can not to welcome.

85% of students feel uncomfortable and always worry when people do not say hello. 5% of them suppose that it is very sad. 9% people begin to think why, 1% -in general, do not care. 74%- don't know how people greet each other in different countries but it is interesting for them. 12% people know about several customs because they read a lot.10%-think that people say «hello». 4% -don't want to know because it is unnecessary information for them. Only 2% of students heard about this holiday from social networks. 98% -don't know. 25% - wanted to know, 16% - think that Russians should learn their holidays.

Conclusion

Greeting is a custom that we use since ancient times. The first words are very important. They demonstrate the level of culture, human politeness, can tell a lot about the fact that he represents himself. Meeting people we wish them health, prosperity, a good day and success in work. This greeting can be coloured by emotion, or may be neutral. The value of a greeting is a demonstration of love and of belonging to a particular society. Any form of greeting bears the basic meaning: hello, means to wish "good health." Under the "health" in this case refers not only care about human health, but also his welfare, well-being and mood. The most enjoyable moment in this tradition is the "boomerang effect". Health, human instantly receives a reply wish "good health." As a rule, it elevates mood, evokes a smile and a burst of cheerfulness.

Say hello when you're lonely,
Say hello when you're alone,
Say hello to friends that come to show you
Life is going on without the slow.
Say hello when it's heavy raining,
Say hello even when it's hail,
Say hello to the devil meeting,
Say hello and welcome to the hell.
Say hello when your mind is empty,
Say hello to me and take my hand,
Say hello and moving on please gently…
There's something you should try to understand!

By saying hello and trying to promote world peace, all global inhabitants will benefit! Thus, the hypothesis «it is important of greeting is true. Remember that greeting with foreigner is the most important sign of attention, by which we can express sympathy and friendly attitude. That is what will make your communication in English super-efficient.

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