One of the more common greetings you likely use in everyday
English is probably not as old as you might think. It was only around the
1880s when we started to use the word hello to greet others. Hello
was just a variation on now-archaic greetings like halloo, hullo and holla,
among others. Hello was originally an Americanism, and was considered
informal, though inoffensive, and it soon found a specific niche. The
telephone had been invented in 1876, and since this was a new way of
communicating, many felt that it needed a specific greeting. Alexander
Graham Bell, who held the patent for the telephone and was starting to set up
telephone systems, originally promoted ahoy as a telephone
greeting. It makes sense, since that’s the word you use to call to others
across long distances. Ahoy has nautical associations, since
sailors would frequently have to call out from ship to ship, but the word was
often used on land, as well. However, despite Mr. Bell’s urgings, hello
became the preferred telephone greeting. (Operating manuals for the first
American telephone systems in the late 1870s sometimes suggested answering the
phone with hello, and sometimes suggested What is wanted?
Gee, how come that one never caught on?)
Next time you’re watching The Simpsons and you hear
the cartoonishly old Mr. Burns answer the phone “Ahoy-hoy!” you’ll understand
why.
| Monty Burns: the last holdout of the "Ahoy-hoy!" salutation. |
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