Aug 13
Is “hey” the new “hi”?
Cats: CBC Radio, Uncategorized, odd things, words|The last few weeks I’ve been noticing “hey” or “hey there” being used to open certain CBC programs – as in “Hey there, welcome to Q.”
This leads a typist to wonder if “hey” isn’t replacing “hi” as a casual greeting.
I first noticed the Hey-for-Hi transposition on the TV program Friends, as in: Ross to Rachel: “Hey Rachel, how’s it goin’.”
That, I assumed it was a Friendsism a bit like: “Do I LOOK like I’m enjoying myself?” or “Oh. My. God.”
But when you hear a Friendsism being bandied around on a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio program, well, you have to think the whole thing’s moved beyond Ross and Rachel.
So, what’s up? Is “hey” the new “hi”?
August 13th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
It’s an under-30 thing and I hate it.
I remember first noticing it while watching Felicity. I remember yelling at the screen: “Why can’t you just say hi?”
August 13th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
I’m glad you yell at the TV. I often yell at the radio.
August 13th, 2007 at 10:58 pm
I Give Hay to my horses and greet them by saying “Hey horses hay?” I also think G you should get a job on the CBC Radio’s board of dialect and pronunciation.
August 14th, 2007 at 3:14 am
For the most part I like “hey”. YA#1 phoned me at 7:00 (my time, not his) this morning — I answered hello and he said “hey”. I knew immediately it was him and it was friendly and loving and all he could muster for that time of the day. It can be a short hey or a longer haay depending on the situation. However…..it should not be abused by being used by the CBC or any other radio station, then it sounds stupid.
August 14th, 2007 at 3:25 am
I don’t dislike it.
I’m more interested in when it entered the lexicon and where it came from?
August 14th, 2007 at 5:28 am
I remember a friend saying “Hey, Holly” to me in high school in 1980 when I passed him in the hall, at which point I stopped and turned to face him because I assumed “Hey, Holly” meant he was trying to get my attention and wanted to initiate a conversation. When he merely smiled and walked by me, I A) felt stupid and B) realized he was using “hey” to mean “hi.”
I didn’t know why he was doing this but I knew he wasn’t original enough to have made this shift on his own, so I started paying attention, trying to see who else did this and if it would become a trend. Sure enough: all kinds of people did it. I didn’t do it myself for a good long but now I have thoroughly succumbed and begin many of my more casual emails “hey there.”
So I can’t tell you when it entered the lexicon or where it came from, but I can tell you it was occurring in southern Arizona in 1980. Perhaps it came from California some time in the 1970s? We weren’t that far from LA, and modeled ourselves on it both deliberately and unconsciously.
p.s. Just as I was getting ready to click on the “submit” button, it occurred to me to consult the OED. Here’s what I found:
HEY
1. a. A call to attract attention; also, an exclamation expressing exultation, incitement, surprise, etc.; sometimes used in the burden of a song with no definite meaning; sometimes as an interrogative (= eh?).
a1225 Leg. Kath. 579 Hei! hwuch wis read of se icudd keiser! c1305 St. Kath. 137 in E.E.P. (1862) 93 Hei traitours, qua{th} {th}emperour, beo {ygh}e icome herto? 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1445 Ande {th}ay halowed hyghe ful hy{ygh}e and hay! hay! cryed. 14.. Christm. Carol 3 (Mätz.) Hey, hey, hey, hey, The borrys hed is armyd gay. a1529 SKELTON E. Rummyng 168 Hey, dogge, hay, Haue these hogges away! 1610 SHAKES. Temp. IV. i. 256 Hey Mountaine, hey. 1712 W. ROGERS Voy. 42 Our Musick play’d, Hey Boys up go we! and all manner of noisy paltry Tunes. c1745 in Ritson Scot. Songs (1794) II. 84 (Jam.) Hey, Johny Coup, are ye waking yet? 1794 Sheridan’s Duenna II. iii, Well, and you were astonished at her beauty, hey? 1802 M. EDGEWORTH Moral T. (1816) 232 Hey, Solomon, my friend? 1861 DICKENS Gt. Expect. xv, You are looking round for Estella? Hey?
and
HI
1. An exclamation used to call attention.
?c1475 Hunt. Hare 136 Thei cryed, ‘Hy, hy!’ all at ones ‘Kyll! kyll! for kockes bownes!’ 1747 Gentl. Mag. 39 Hold, hold, ’tis a double; hark hey! bowler hye! If a thousand gainsay it, a thousand shall lye. 1847 ALB. SMITH Chr. Tadpole xxx. (1879) 267 ‘Hi!’ cried the brigand, giving the mule a bang with the butt-end of his musket. ‘Hi!’ 1886 FENN This Man’s Wife II. ii, It was not a thrilling word..it was only a summons{em}an arrest. Hi! 1894 {emem} In Alpine Valley I. 47 Here, hi! have a cigar? 1897 Daily News 2 Oct. 3/3 A good lunch, and then hi! for the Crystal Palace.
2. A word of greeting. colloq. (chiefly N. Amer.).
1862 M. D. COLT Went to Kansas ix. 143 When out on the prairie, up galloped an Indian on his pony with his saluting ‘hi!’ 1885 ‘P. PERKINS’ Familiar Lett. (1886) 33 We would have had to walk, I believe, if a man hadn’t come along and let out the most satisfactory ‘Hi, there!’ you’ve ever heard, and stopped a car. 1920 F. SCOTT FITZGERALD This Side of Paradise (1921) II. i. 199 Alec: Hi, Amory! Amory: Hi, Alec! Tom said he’d meet you at the theatre. 1951 J. D. SALINGER Catcher in Rye iii. 26 He..came in the room. ‘Hi,’ he said..like he was terrifically bored. 1953 H. CLEVELY Public Enemy xviii. 111 Tillic nodded to the uniformed commissionaire..and said: ‘Hi, Charlie,’ and they entered. 1959 I. & P. OPIE Lore & Lang. Schoolch. vii. 116 Hi, Roy Rogers! How about a date? 1963 H. GARNER in R. Weaver Canad. Short Stories 2nd Ser. (1968) 50 ‘Hi, Eric!’ shouted Pete Adams..from where he was standing at the drinking fountain. 1972 WODEHOUSE Pearls, Girls & Monty Bodkin ii. 28 A musical voice in his left ear said ‘Hi’. 1973 Black Panther 11 Aug. 2/2 (letter to editor), Hi, I’ve been following serialization of Operation Gemstone in the Panther Paper.
So “hi” was originally derived from “hey” and both were a call for attention; in North America, “hi” became a friendly greeting in the 19th century; and in the 20th “hey” became “hi,” even though the OED doesn’t acknowledge that yet.
Sorry if I’ve just geeked-out on your blog, gt, but this is the kind of thing I love thinking about.
August 14th, 2007 at 5:38 am
You are a word detective, Holly. That is fascinating.
The “Hey!” as in “Hey you there!” was always my understanding of the word so it’s interesting that hi derived from hey.
If I were a more gifted typist, I would have done this research myself.
Thank you.
August 14th, 2007 at 6:46 am
It always reminds me of the cheesy Hank Kingsley from the Larry Sanders Show, whose catchphrase was “Hey now!”
I think that’s why I don’t like it.
August 14th, 2007 at 7:08 am
Hey and hi have been around since Jesus was in diapers (I like that expression, even when used inappropriately).
‘Ay’ is another. They all are simply verbalization of the nod or wave (not in the sport stadium context), acknowledgement of someone’s presence.
I have to disagree with Jacy, as I am not under 30, nor am I pretending to be. No doubt there will be differences geographically.
Does anyone say, “You bet ya” anywhere other than BC?
August 14th, 2007 at 7:43 am
Hey Dick. We say “friggin’ right”.
August 14th, 2007 at 10:29 am
Ay YAM, you know it, eh.
August 14th, 2007 at 11:54 am
Dick, are you saying you do you use “hey” interchangeably with “hi” as a casual greeting
as opposed to a way to get someone’s attention?
Yes, you are right Jacy.
August 14th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
I am under 30, and whilst walking down the cobbled street in my tweeds pushing my penny farthing, if I am to greet fellow gentry I say “what ho chaps, how do you do?” and bid them farewell as I leave.
August 14th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
Howdy ho GT,
You becha. I will use ‘hey’ to get someones attention, but won’t use ‘hi’. Ususally used in conjunction with ‘there’.
Hey there GT. Hi GT. Ay GT. Hey GT. Whas shakin’ GT. How’s she hangin’ GT. Whasup GT. Hello GT.
Later GT. Chow GT. Bye GT.
August 14th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
“Hey” has come into such common use in the NE US that I even (said with great embarrassment) use it in informal business correspondence. I do this because 80% of the business emails I receive begin “Hey Zed.” I’m sure this is another dumb Americanism making its way around the continent. Don’t hate us for being knuckleheads!
August 14th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
Dick, this sounds like a First Nations chant.
Or something.
August 14th, 2007 at 5:00 pm
I’m not sure I hate it, Zed.
In fact, I’m more OK with it the more I hear it.
If it was good enough for Hendrix, then it’s good enough for moi.
August 14th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
[...] turns out that we might have been fooling ourselves with the “hi” to “hey” [...]
August 14th, 2007 at 6:24 pm
In the land of windmills, dykes, wooden shoes and great bier they say “hoi” maybe that’s why I like “hey”.
August 15th, 2007 at 4:46 am
no no no you people are confused
Hey is the young snoop dog rapper aproach to greeting someone.
Hi is the Nancy Drew type greeting
Hello is the mysterious person greeting
and last but not least……… YO ma homies is a P-diddy snoop dog Akon aproach to greeting someone
I like to call the so called YO language………..guess..ok it is Rap yes rap what else could youhave thought of.
And YAM i’m sure hoi is a greeting. But i dont quite have an explination for that..
August 15th, 2007 at 5:42 am
Thanks, Laurr, it’s good to have the ten-year old’s take on this because you are the future of the language.
August 15th, 2007 at 9:04 am
I’ve been monitoring my speech today after I read this post. I found that I say HI when I’m really excited to see someone, and HEY when I’m being laidback and cool.
August 16th, 2007 at 3:29 am
Beth, perhaps an interesting topic of discussion with your students….
August 16th, 2007 at 9:08 am
thank you mummy…. AND for todays lesson snoop dog is a rapper/singer p-diddy is a rapper and akon is an R&B singer, Nancy Drew is a perky young happy dectective………. I now prenounce my self part of the coment board! Dun Duna Dun Dunaaaa! YAY ME I’m a fellow coment boardie!
people of bloggeria stand by for ….for……. ahh whatever bye
August 16th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
as a man without a nation…,don’t call it an americanism, no apologies zed,
there is no hi or hey , just the persons name or even the initial comment in an email. expedition is the key,formality is reserved for when you meet someone or….write a letter, and post it.
instesd of getting hung up on greetings, or let’s..,when AG Bell invented the telephone, he wanted to say ” ahoy ahoy”. ironically- and not in an Alaniss Morisette way- AG Bell invented the phone so people wouldn’t have to wait on the written word… so why do people insist on using their phones for text messaging? and why get hung up on the way they do it? There are bigger fish to fry but if you’re caught with one you’ll probably loose your car and boat.
Good Luck
August 16th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
not zed.yam, blame terrantino
cheers
August 17th, 2007 at 4:02 am
Dick, I’ll give you one guess – just one – to identify who Mik is.
Hint: you’re related to him.
August 17th, 2007 at 6:41 am
Too easy. He was ranting about text messenging when I talk ed to him the other night.
He does have a point, although he had to hi-jack the thread to make it.:-D
August 23rd, 2007 at 11:05 am
[...] Last week the Gifted Typist asked if “hey” is the new “hi”. [...]