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Topic: You alright?  (Read 1962 times)

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Re: You alright?
« Reply #15 on: March 08, 2016, 07:22:42 PM »
I can't get used to this either. I usually just say "um, yeah, how are you?"


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Re: You alright?
« Reply #16 on: April 01, 2016, 04:02:50 PM »
This threw me when I first moved here too! I kept thinking I must look sick! But now I hardly notice it and I say it all the time too. I wonder if I've said it to folks when I'm visiting the States...? :)


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Re: You alright?
« Reply #17 on: April 02, 2016, 12:38:46 AM »
I say this all the time to my American husband and it drives him crazy. The thing is it's often used as a shorthand and anyone I said it to in the UK would automatically understand it based on context.

To a stranger in public it's a friendly, casual greeting - usually said without the 'you' - "Alright?"

To my husband if I hear him sounding ill, or banging his toe etc. It is shorthand for: "Wow, that sounds awful, poor you, is there anything I can do?"

Or if he was looking cross or sad etc it is shorthand for:
"Darling, I hope you are okay, you look like you might be feeling sad / cross / depressed etc - what can I do to help"

But he always yells - "No of course I am not alright - didn't you just see I banged my toe / had a coughing fit / was sick etc"

Whereas all my friends and family in the UK would just understand the context it was being used in and they might reply.

"Yeah" or "Fine" or "Not bad" and by combination of the tone and expression on their face I would know that just those few terse words meant something like the following.

"Absolutely terrible, I couldn't feel worse, thank for asking though"

or

"I'll be okay in a minute. Just give me a few minutes"

or

"Yeah, that was a pretty awful cough wasn't it. I think I might be coming down with a cold. I'm a bit embarrassed you had to see me like this. Let's not talk about it further."

I didn't realise until I moved to the US and also from reading on these forums how much of the communication in the UK was this silent, code-like way of speaking which you learn automatically as you grow up.

On the other hand I have spent the last few years thinking my husband's Southern cousins were being really sweet to me when they said "Bless your heart" - and now I know that it usually means quite the opposite.


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