Smile File-HELLO!

Mental Floss did a fun list of literal translations for greetings in different languages. I kind of love how these little phrases reveal a bit about the cultures.

Here are my faves quoted from Mental Floss’ list.

1. Victory to you!
Gamarjoba!

Language: Georgian
Where it comes from: Georgia, a tiny nation in the South Caucasus, a region that over the last two thousand years has been invaded, conquered and subjugated dozens of times.

2. Have you eaten rice?
喂, 食咗飯未呀?; wei, sik jor fan mei a?

Language: Cantonese.
Where it comes from: Mostly southern China. The phrase, or derivations of it—“have you eaten?”—is also used in several other southeast Asian languages.

6. Don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t be lazy.
Ama sua, ama llulla, ama qhella

Language: Classical Quechua
Where it comes from: Those three imperatives were considered cornerstones of morality in the Incan Empire—the longer-winded equivalent to the modern farewell, “Be good.”

What phrase would you pick to replace your hellos?

See all 7 fun greetings on Mental Floss here. PS- One of the languages is Klingon. Ha!

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9 Comments

  1. Jenn L @ Peas and Crayons July 18, 2011 / 12:47 pm

    ooh I like the don’t steal don’t lie don’t be lazy! =)

    if WHADDUUUUUUP DAWG!? could replace hello…. and business men and women had to say it… well that would just make me giggle =)

  2. blahblahbecky.co.uk July 18, 2011 / 1:25 pm

    These are so cute, I love number 6 – can you imagine ET saying that mouthful instead of just plain old “be good”?!

  3. Casee Marie July 18, 2011 / 6:32 pm

    Ha, love these. The Georgian one has so much enthusiasm! I think that’s my favorite. 😉

  4. Jules July 18, 2011 / 10:33 pm

    I like #6. I want to teach it to my students who will have fun saying “Ama sua, ama llulla, ama qhella.”

  5. Audrey Allure July 19, 2011 / 9:38 am

    Haha that’s so interesting.

  6. Aquí July 19, 2011 / 3:35 pm

    how fun and interesting! Love that you included a little insight here with these phrases! Its so neat to see the direct translation and then the intended translation!

  7. Jessie at Fashion Limbo July 29, 2011 / 6:47 am

    Definitively the Quechua one, love the meaning. My boyfriend spent a few months in Bolivia where he was exposed to Quechua and its culture, he loved it and even has a tattoo to remind him of those days.

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