060_Casual_Greetings

060_Casual_Greetings

Even the easiest of greetings can be confusing. So why don’t you give this episode a listen, no matter what your level.

Kevin:

Hello. This is Nichibei Kaiwa Gakuin Podcasting. A quick and easy way to review English words and phrases. I’m your host, Kevin Jones.
This episode we take a question from Nichibei student, Sayuri. Hello Sayuri how are you today.

Sayuri:

I’m fine.

Kevin:

Do you have a question for the podcast.

Sayuri:

Yes I do.

Kevin:

Go ahead.

Sayuri:

OK. I work part time in an office with an American man. And every morning when he sees me he says “Hi Sayuri. What’s new?” Every time he says this, I’m not sure what to say.

Kevin:

What do you usually say?

Sayuri:

I usually say “Good morning”. Is that OK?

Kevin:

That’s OK but it’s not the standard response he is expecting.

Sayuri:

What’s the standard response?

Kevin:

Well, first l should tell you that he’s using a casual greeting. This casual greeting is used between people that see each other often or everyday.

Sayuri:

An everyday greeting?

Kevin:

That’s right. If someone says What’s new to you they are asking if anything is new or interesting in your life. This is a casual way of saying hello.

Sayuri:

OK. But what’s the response!

Kevin:

Oh, right. When someone says What’s new, you should say not much, or nothing special. Let’s give it a try. Hello Sayuri. What’s new?

Sayuri:

Not much.

Kevin:

Say it like this….not much, with dropping intonation. Hello Sayuri. What’s new?

Sayuri:

Not much.

Kevin:

Good! Now try to pass the question back to me by saying…not much. And you? Let’s try. Hello Sayuri. What’s new?

Sayuri:

Not much. And you?

Kevin:

Not much. Good Sayuri. Now we are finished with our casual greeting. Of course, if something is new or interesting in your life, you can talk about it. Let’s try again. This time you start.

Sayuri:

OK, Hello Kevin. What’s new?

Kevin:

Next week I’m going to New Zealand for the first time. I’m really excited.

Sayuri:

Oh, nice.

Kevin:

And you?

Sayuri:

Not much.

Kevin:

Good Sayuri. That sounded fine. Now, you may also hear someone use what’s up or what’s happening in the same way. Listen to this.

Kevin:

What’s up?

Bob:

Not much. And you?

Kevin:

Oh, nothing special.

Kevin:

Hey Bob. What’s happening?

Bob:

Not much.

Kevin:

OK Sayuri, Do you feel confident about responding to casual greetings?

Sayuri:

Yeah. Do you have any other casual greetings you can tell me?

Kevin:

Well, we have time to review one more. This one is how’s it going, which means “how is your life going?”. The standard answer for this one is… not bad. Let’s try this one.

Sayuri:

OK.

Kevin:

Hello Sayuri. How’s it going?

Sayuri:

Not bad. And you?

Kevin:

Pretty good.

Kevin:

OK Sayuri. That sounded good.

Sayuri:

Thanks for your time.

Kevin:

You’re very welcome.

Kevin:

And before we go…If you haven’t registered for the Summer 2007 session at Nichibei Kaiwa Gakuin, I’ve got some good news for you from Yuko.

Yuko:

Thank you Kevin. (Japanese announcement)

END