Parting phrase

Parting phrases, which are valedictions used to acknowledge the parting of individuals or groups of people from each other, are elements of parting traditions. Parting phrases are specific to culture and situation, and vary based on the social status and relationship of the persons involved.

Parting phrases commonly used by speakers of English

In English, there are formal and informal ways of saying goodbye. Additionally, in day-to-day speech, English-speaking people sometimes use foreign parting phrases, such as the French terms au revoir or bon voyage, German terms auf Wiedersehen or tschüss, Hawaiian term aloha, Italian terms arrivederci or ciao, Japanese term sayōnara, or Spanish terms adiós, hasta luego, hasta mañana, or hasta la vista.

Religious and traditional parting phrases

Holiday greetings

All holiday greetings (such as "Merry Christmas", "Happy new year" or "Happy Easter") can act as parting phrases.

Phrases from fictional works

Some commonly used parting phrases are popularized by fictional works, such as:

while others were created for the fictional worlds and adopted by the real world, such as:

Written parting phrases

Most of spoken phrases may also be used in written communication, but there are some specialized ones.

For example, various cultures historically have elaborate epistolary traditions, in particular how to end a letter, which is seen as a parting with the invisible partner in dialogue. English language letters are ended with the sender's name (for example, John Doe). Thus, epistolary parting phrases have the following form:

  • Best regards, John Doe
  • Best wishes, John Doe
  • Respectfully yours, John Doe
  • Yours sincerely, John Doe (if the recipient is known to the sender)
  • Yours faithfully, John Doe (if the recipient is unknown to the sender)
  • Yours truly, John Doe

More elaborate endings are possible.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Shipley, Joseph T. (15 January 1955). Dictionary of Early English. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 305. ISBN 9781442233997.

Further reading

  • Speake, Jennifer (1997). The Oxford Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-863159-6.
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