Friday, June 19, 2015

The hallo code, part 2

I recently wrote a post about the hallo code. It's my attempt at understanding the nuances of when it's ok to be friendly in German culture.

But there's yet another dimension to the concept of the hallo code. From what I can tell, the word hallo may just have more meanings than any other word in the German language. Unlike the word schön, which means good/pretty/ok/nice/fine, the meanings of hallo are actually quite different from each other.
Let me attempt to explain:

Hallo = hello. You knew that already.

Hallo = are you paying attention? excuse me? With a little extra emphasis on the ooo, you can expect this from the cashier when you are texting in line at the grocery store and have reached the cash register. It's also a way for someone to tell you that something has fallen out of your pocket. It's what you say when you want to order a pizza and your waitress is busy talking on the phone.

Hallo = Hey, watch out! This comes from a cyclist who is getting no reaction after ringing his bell insistently at a pedestrian who has wandered into the bike path. You can also hear it from a driver who is angry at said cyclist for riding in the middle of the road because there are too many pedestrians in the bike path.

Hallo = Hey, everyone, all together! Pronounced 'HA lo-oooow!' This is what the announcer sings at the Hannover 96 soccer games when he wants everyone to sing the fight song.

Hallo = an angry way to say what the f*** are you doing? Pronounced 'ha LOOOOOW!' in a really loud and aggravated tone. This is what a cyclist shouts at another cyclist who almost causes an accident by riding her bike in the wrong direction on the bike path. This is also what the Hannover 96 fan yells at the fan behind him who has spilled beer on his head while singing the fight song. It's what the cashier says when the customer is still texting and has not responded to the first three hallos.

So I will wrap this post up with a pop quiz. Please fill in the blanks with the appropriate answer.
Question:

You are walking down the street and see a friend approaching. You say ___________ .
Excited to see her, you wander into the bike path in front of an oncoming cyclist. He says __________! Startled, you step backwards and a key falls out of your pocket. A passerby draws your points to it and says _____________ . Seized with team spirit, your friend wants to sing the Hannover 96 soccer fight song. She kicks it off with _______________ . Standing in the middle of the bike path, singing, dropping your belongings, oblivious to the world around you, everyone in the area joins together in yelling at you:  ______________!

Answers: Hallo. To all of the above.

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About Me

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Thanks for coming to my blog. It started as a way to keep in touch with family and friends, and now has become an ongoing project. I'm an American living in Germany and trying to travel whenever I can. I write about my experiences as an expatriate (the interesting ones and the embarrassing ones), and about my travels. There are some recurring characters in this blog, particularly my husband Brian and several of our friends. The title comes from the idea that living in a foreign country means making a lot of mistakes. So the things you used to do easily you now have to try over and over again. Hopefully, like me, you can laugh at how idiotic it feels. If you have happened upon my blog, then welcome. Knowing that people are reading what I write makes me keep going. Feel free to write comments or suggestions for future posts.