The “Are you alright?” as a greeting threw me off when I first went to England, because in Canada when someone says that to you, it’s because they have a reason to believe you are not alright (e.g “Oh my, you’ve fallen down a manhole! Are you alright?” or “I just found out about your car accident, are you alright?”) So in the beginning when I heard it I would get worried and check myself for blood.
But then I got the hang of it, it’s a much quicker conversation than you get with the other ones. Witness:
You: Are you alright?
Me: Alright!
vs
You: Hey, how’s it going?
Me: Great, thanks, and you?
You: Fine, thanks
It’s a much quicker conversation. In fact, I got so hooked on it that I still say it regularly (and people respond with predictable confusion). In fact I said it to a guy only yesterday (even tho I haven’t been in the UK in years). He said “How’s it going?” and I said “Alright” because I didn’t have time to say more. And then I got worried because I realized that I was supposed to ask him how HE was, and I didn’t. In general the “how’s it going?” model is slightly more onerous.
Maybe I spend too much time worrying about these things.
Respond in fine Kiwi form! ‘Aww yea, nah, not bad’ is how I used to respond. Six months over here and I still can’t say ‘alright’ as a geeting without feeling like a bit of a poser. I say ‘fit’ and ‘pikey’ now, so I guess ‘alright’ will follow.
I’ve been known to pass by pts in the hall and ask them, “you ok?” and just keep walking by as they are clearly up and walking so they must be ok, which I think may be the Midwest equivalent to UK’d “all right?” I have heard “all right then?” more often–maybe they’re just leaving off the “then”? Although, come to think of it, the “all right, then?” seems to come after something has happened–the waitress got you a clean spoon or someone helped you pick up a dropped newpaper…
Seems to me that all right serves the same purpose of greeting as “how are you?”. In neither case does the person truly want to know how you are.
When is it appropriate to say “cheery bye”? I know it’s a farewell, but I can’t figure out when it’s used.
Can I borrow this thread for another UK question? I went to a conference and one of the vendors in the exposition is from the UK. They gave me this lovely little desk-sign with different amusing phrases bound together with wire. You know, like “Hung Over, Please Speak Quietly” and “Available To Go To The Pub” and “What Did Your Last Servant Die Of?”
Well, one of them says “On Your Bike.” WTF? What does that mean?
Ah. Thanks. Well that one’s wasted here, because no one would have any idea what I meant if I had that sign up.
So today I have the one that says “No Geeks Permitted” with a (hand-drawn) big red X across “No.” I mean, jeez, I work in IT. If geeks weren’t permitted, I’d be very lonely in my office. (Hell, I’d probably not be permitted in my own office!)
If someone says it to me as we’re walking past each other in the street, with no time to stop and chat, I reply with an “All right”.
If we’re able to stop and chat, I reply with “Not bad, how’re things?” which leaves the other person the option of opening up the conversation or passing.
IME, when a Brit says “alright”, they don’t pronounce the “al” as “all”, rather, it’s the same sound as “al” in “always”, a much shorter sound.
“All right” and “alright” are two different pronunciations, even if some pedants refuse to accept that “alright” is a word, despite it resolving some ambiguity, falling in line with a general pattern in English, and being a perfectly natural spelling for a large number of people (c.f. this thread).
(Hell, I’d probably not be permitted in my own office!)