Tales of Hi and Bye: Greeting and Parting Rituals Around the World

Acknowledgements To the reader Introduction Gestures and signals: take a bow: bending at the neck or waist Hi, Hitler! Arm salutes at various angles Do a nose job: rubbing and sniffing as a greeting XXXX! The heartfelt kiss Flashy hello: the eyebrow flash Getting the shakes: the story of the handshake Slaps, daps, thumps and bumps: not so gripping handshakes I dips me lid: the hat as a courtesy tool Hello? Hell, no! Greeting refusals Waves of emotion: greeting from a distance Customs and behaviours: no hug for Dr Livingstone: a demonstration of restraint It hurts to say goodbye: the Parthian shot How stiff can your upper lip get? Avoiding strangers Chinese whispers: greeting and parting rituals in China From Russia with love: sit on your case and say goodbye Cut it out! How to avoid saying 'hello' I don't speak to my mother-in-law: avoidance language Phonethics: telephone mannerisms Thanks for having me on! Names and forms of address in the media Eskimodesty: greeting and visiting in the Arctic Names and addresses: what's so good about it? The curious nature of 'good-' greetings Ahoy, ahoy! Pick up the phone! 'Hello' and its uses The unlucky Mr Szczesciarz: foreign names in foreign places Wang is King in China: too many people not enough names Finding Bjoerk: Icelandic names Yoo-hoo! Who? You! How Swedes don't address each other Mister Doctor: titles of medicos, surgeons and barbers I forget my name: loss of first name by marriage When your coz is your sis: kinship terms You, thou and other politenesses: familiar and polite 'you' Include me out! Dual, trial and other grammatical curiosities For me to know and you to find out: naming and name taboos Bye-bye! How things have changed Postscript Notes Sources Index.