RWO: Hey, Hi, Howdy, Hello

“Hello”, in almost all indigenous South African languages, translates literally to “I see you” (yes, think Avatar). And the formal way of greeting someone is in the plural, which symbolizes not only addressing them, but also all those in their family, which we think is kinda nifty. Where we live, it’s expected to greet virtually everyone you see on the road to/from work by at least making eye contact and saying hello, “Sawubona” or “Sanibonani”, and asking how they/their family are doing “Unjani” or “Ninjani”. This becomes especially important when passing Gogos (grandmothers) because they are particularly happy when greeted by visitors, so the procedure usually involves slowing your pace (perhaps almost to a stop in the middle of the road) and often involves much more elongated and inunciated greetings, “Saw-u-boooo-na”, and even sometimes a hand shake/hold as well. The only time that these greetings are waived is during particularly busy travel time, such as when school lets out… simply put, because it is virtually impossible to stop and talk to that many kids! But either way, it certainly does put a new (or perhaps old) twist on the whole nod-and-mutter-greeting that we’ve come to love so much in the States… ahhhh.