Here in Africa most if not all of the ethnic ‘black’ languages (though I do not speak them) have built into the greeting a fairly lengthy to and fro question and answer ritual that essentially give communicating people time to settle in to the conversation, regardless of what it is. One always starts off with a good morning/day/evening at least, then a how are you and a I am fine too chatter.

For people not used to this and for tourists and visitors, its quaint to start off with then it can become irritating especially if you are in a hurry but then once you are used to it, you cannot start off a conversation without it.

Loosley translated for instance is a greeting below in Shona, one of the main languages spoken in Zimbabwe. Other main languages like Zulu and Xhosa have similar constructs though perhaps shorter now in city talk and current useage.

“Good Morning”
“Good Morning”
“How are you?”
“I am fine”
“And you?”
“I am fine if you are fine”
“I am fine”
“Ah, you see, I am here”

That means you see me, I am here, I am not in bed sick, I am not off work, I am not attending to family troubles, but I am here and I am fine. And of course I can only be fine if you are fine for if you are not fine how can I ignore that and not acknowledge your troubles in some way, even if its just a cliche or a comment or a least facial expression of care.

Now when you are in a mad rush, this takes time which means that this chatter can drive a person crazy at the waste of time as it were. But it would be the height of bad manners not to greet and enquire after one another. You just have to slow down. And if a person (you) wants to get any results whether its from a sales transaction, or an instruction or a question or anyting in fact, you skip this intro at your peril in a way. South Africans are always enquiring about your health and asking how you are whether you think they care or not.

As you say Ron, its smart to greet anyone but there are times when it is crucial and has direct consequences if not followed.

Cheers
Lestie
Jo’burg
South Africa