CIICPD 2023

It only occurred to me later that American and Czech greetings differ in the function of the “how are you” phrase. While in English, it is part of the greeting, in Czech, it serves the function of an initiator of a conversation. And it also explains why Czechs are sometimes seen as too negative or pessimistic. Because, answering positively kind of means a refusal of that conversation while the negative remarks serve to elaborate on the topic. In the end, the content frequently turns not to be negative or pessimistic at all. The meaning of a smile At school, some exchange students were planning on having a party in the same location at the same time as some of the staff. A couple of teachers told the students, most of them from Japan, that they would have to have the party somewhere else in the school building, because the lobby had already been reserved for the staff party. The students nodded many times and smiled as to say that they understood and agreed, but in the evening of the party, they were, however, there in the lobby with their party.

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