Greetings are like a mixed bag of candies: they’re generally short and sweet, and they come in a number of different varieties. From the casual to the formal, various American salutations are used depending on the social situation. Interestingly enough, a lot of these greetings have long cultural histories tied into them as well. Here is a beginner’s guide to some basic American greetings.
阿甘说，生活呢就像一盒巧克力，看东西说，问候语呢，就像一袋混合口味的糖果：甜味浓郁却利落，口味繁多。从生活口语到正式问候，社交场所不同，美国人也有不一样的寒暄方法。而且，非常有意思的是，其中很多问候方法都有着悠久的文化历史渊源。下面，看东西就为寒暄界的新手们送上福利，奉上一些简单道地的美式问候：
“HOWDY”——乡村主流范儿“你好”
Commonly relegated to the down|home boys of the Southern states and Western movie stars like John Wayne, “howdy” is an informal greeting often thought to represent a shortened version of the phrase “how do you do?” Generally thought of as a hallmark of the vocabulary of states such as Arizona, Texas and New Mexico, it is believed to have come from Native American greetings to settlers.
这个词其实是“how do you do”的非正式删减版，虽然被公觉得是X格较低，但却十分的接地气儿，一挂在嘴边儿就叫人想起美国南部诸州的乡村大男生和西部电影里的经典牛仔形象，譬如约翰•韦恩。这个词是美国亚利桑那州、德克萨斯州和新墨西哥州方言的经典词语，据了解最早来自印第安人对美洲发展者的问候。
“WHASSUP”——潮酷随心所欲范儿“你好”
“Whassup?” “What’s up?” “Sup?” They all mean the same thing. This is an informal slang greeting you’ll hear in many places across the United States, basically meaning: “How’s is everything going?” The long slurred form of the phrase “whassup” gained popularity in the 1990s from a series of well|loved beer adverti百度竞价推广ents, where characters tried to outdo each other with progressively longer “whassaaaaps”.
“Whassup?” “What’s up?” “Sup?”这类都是一个意思。这句俚语问候可以说早在美国“烂大街”，它的意思基本上就是：“所有可都还好?”这句长长的俚语的发音要诀就是必须要说得含糊不了解，它成名于上世纪90年代，出目前一个饱受追捧的啤酒广告系列中而一跃时尚;广告里的老哥儿们一个个接起电话都是“Yo! Whassup!”，一个比一个发音含糊尾音拖得老长，也是醉了。
“YO”——干净利落范儿“你好”
Short, sweet and to the point, the one|syllable “yo” might be the simplest American greeting in the English language. The word originally came from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – a largely working|class city in the Northeast – but a series of iconic uses popularized the word in the American vocabulary. Most famously, Rocky Balboa, the main character in the titular “Rocky” films, used the word as a sign of his Philadelphia roots. The word also gained wide usage in the hip|hop and rap communities in the 1990s, filtering into the mainstream conversation through the popularity of that lifestyle and music.
掷地有声，热情友好，单刀直入，它只有一个音节，是英语语言中最简单的美式问候——唷!“唷”刚开始来自宾州费城，美帝东北部一个以工人阶级为主的城市，但之后一些娱乐界标志性的使用方法才真正地让它走入群众心中。其中最为有名的使用方法来自洛奇系列电影中的主角洛奇拳王，他用这个词来代表我们的费城背景。这个词同时也在上世纪90年代的嘻哈说唱圈儿里被广泛用，之后伴随嘻哈生活方法和音乐的时尚而渐渐渗透进入主流语言。
“ALOHA”——阳光热情范儿“你好”
You might need to head to a tropical paradise to hear this island greeting. “Aloha” has been used in the island state of Hawaii since the mid|19th century to mean not only a greeting, but also a farewell. In the decades since then, Hawaii has become quite the tourist destination – with countless visitors to the “Aloha State” getting a taste of the island lifestyle and bringing back a phrase or two home with them.
要听到底的“Aloha”,恐怕你得赴夏威夷州微服一趟。它从19世纪中期就在夏威夷开始用，而且它不止是问候语，也是告别语。自那之后的几十年中，夏威夷已经成为一个旅游热点去处——数不清的友人涌向这里，之为一品海岛生活风情，同时带一两句方言满载而归。
“SHALOM”——高档深刻范儿“你好”
“Shalom” is a greeting normally used in the American Jewish community. It comes from the Hebrew word for peace, completeness, prosperity, and welfare – and just like “Aloha”, it can mean both hello and goodbye. It is frequently used as a more general blessing, and is often put in combination with other Hebrew words in both colloquial and religious contexts.
“Shalom”是在美国的犹太人社群中常常用的问候语。它来自希伯来语，代表和平、整全、兴盛和幸福。就像“Aloha”一样，它既是问候语又是告别语;更多的时候它是作为通用的祝福语，常常和其他的希伯来语词语合起来用，在白话和宗教语境中都频繁出现。
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