Aug 14
Or perhaps “hi” is actually the new “hey”
Cats: CBC Radio, blogs, culture|It turns out that we might have been fooling ourselves with the “hi” to “hey” controversy.
We were discussing when the word “hey” became the new “hi” and wondering if this was a Friendsism creeping into the language.
It was at this point that the intrepid Holly entered the discussion with a very productive search of the on-line dictionaries. She made a fascinating discovery. Here is her conclusion:
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.
For more on this etymological discovery, go here.
August 15th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
So then, with everyone’s permission, I will continue to use “hey” in greetings in business correspondence. I feel validated and secure now.
August 15th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
I will continue not to think about it.;-)
August 16th, 2007 at 3:28 am
Zed, consider yourself validated and secure.
Dick, best just to put things like this out of your mind altogether.
August 16th, 2007 at 7:52 pm
wake up
hey has been the standard for years in the colonies
the farther south “hey what’s up?”
and deep
“what’s up?”
it replaced ” how are you?” around when Mary Tyler Moore went into syndication.
Seriously, don’t you have something worthy to discuss?
Cheers
August 18th, 2007 at 7:13 am
I’ve been using ‘Hey’ for a long time and I’m glad Holly did all that digging to help you out. She’s pretty darned impressive isn’t she?
August 19th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
Dale, if you’ve been saying it, well then, it must be the thang….
Mik, ditto.
August 23rd, 2007 at 9:40 am
Hey – Have you checked out page 4 of the Life section of today’s Globe and Mail? Sarah Hampson totally ripped off your hey/hi thing!
Say Hey to her for me….