erinja:One problem with National How Are You Day - most people in the US use "How are you?" as a greeting, not expecting an answer. The expected answer would be "How are you?", or perhaps "Good, how are you?", even if they are not actually doing well at all. Most people ask "How are you?" in the US without expecting to actually hear how you are, and if you start to tell them, they are surprised and taken aback. I had an Italian roommate in school who was greatly confused when she would run into friends on campus, and they would ask "How are you?" and then start to walk away before she had a chance to tell them. I had to explain to her that they mean it only as a greeting, not as a real question, so you're just supposed to say "Fine, how are you?" or just repeat the question and keep walking.

As Stephen Fry once said, (I think when having a little rant hs fellow Brits who complain about American style greetings, but which on second appraisal seem very nice) 'hello' originates from 'health to you!' No idea if that's actually true, but his point was the sentiment of 'how are you?' is welcomed.

The greeting "How do you do?" is another question not in search of an answer. "I do fine," sounds funny, and I've even heard it used for comical effect once or twice for that reason. (The correct reply is 'How do you do?')

Meanwhile, Japanese language textbooks often teach the translation, "O genki desuka?" (Are you well?) and its correct answer "Hai, genki desu okagesamode!" (Yes, I'm well, thanks for asking), though it's not commonly heard. This is solely for the benefit of anglophone learners, like me, for whom 'How are you?' is ingrained. However I always get a weird look or a giggle when I say that above answer. Thanks a lot, language audiotapes!

Sounds like a good idea to me, that is, trying to get people to actually talk about their day instead of having it as a greeting. Well, I don't mind its use as a greeting, but often people are too hesitant to talk (mind you, everyone has people they want to avoid talking to now and again). I do quite enjoy it when you get stuck in a fun little conversation with a stranger, since it gives you the feeling that "hey, these aren't just puppets walking around, they're real people, who probably feel a lot like me".

I guess though in Esperanto the idea doesn't translate well since most would take it literally and not think of it as a greeting I'd suspect .

Maybe "Ne salutu, interparolu!" or "'Kiel vi fartas' ne estas saluto, ĝi estas la komenco de interparolado!" might work as a nice slogan EO-wise, albeit both are lengthy... On that matter, is a "konversacio" different to a "interparolado"? "Konversacio" I'm guessing if there is a difference alludes to the fact that it's quite a dynamic and lengthy process and not just speaking between two people? (even though "konversacio" means "together speak" basically).

3rdblade:Meanwhile, Japanese language textbooks often teach the translation, "O genki desuka?" (Are you well?) and its correct answer "Hai, genki desu okagesamode!" (Yes, I'm well, thanks for asking), though it's not commonly heard. This is solely for the benefit of anglophone learners, like me, for whom 'How are you?' is ingrained. However I always get a weird look or a giggle when I say that above answer. Thanks a lot, language audiotapes!

Mah Minna no Nihongo f'r universiteh don't say nothin' bout dat! (only おげんきですか。　はい、げんきです)

There was however the point that you say "Sou desu ka" often not expecting an answer (quite logical when you think of it, otherwise you might end up with some awkward loop around that one phrase). (sou desu ka = is that so?, but often said like "I see").

That said, Japanese greetings I find very complex, much more so than Indonesian ones where you practically slap "selamat" on the front of everything (gross simplification ).

Hm I'm generally pretty happy not to have conversations with random people. I find it weird and creepy when I visit places where people expect me to have conversations with them. As if they knew me! It happened to me once on a trip to Kansas City, I felt so relieved to return to DC, where I can buy something in a shop without the cashier grilling me about my life.

But if I did want to start having a conversation with a random person it wouldn't start with "How are you?" It would be some kind of comment more than a question. "How about that recent non-political news headline, eh?"

erinja:Hm I'm generally pretty happy not to have conversations with random people. I find it weird and creepy when I visit places where people expect me to have conversations with them. As if they knew me! It happened to me once on a trip to Kansas City, I felt so relieved to return to DC, where I can buy something in a shop without the cashier grilling me about my life.

But if I did want to start having a conversation with a random person it wouldn't start with "How are you?" It would be some kind of comment more than a question. "How about that recent non-political news headline, eh?"

Oh, I was more thinking something like something awkward happens and someone has a little joke to lighten up the atmosphere. Or if someone asks a question (e.g. does this train go to X?). And then you have a friendly little conversation. It has to have context though and you've got to have some sort of connection, something that both breaks the ice and gives you something common to talk about, like, if someone came up to me and tried to talk about the news I'd be fairly weirded out and would have trouble warming up to them, just like you've said.