British-ism of the Week (23/02/09)

"Alright" (British saying)

Similar to the previous British-ism, "alright" is a way of saying hello and asking how someone is doing packed into a single word. Although there are some folks who prefer saying the whole phrase, as in, "Are you alright?"

In Canada, I'm used to saying and hearing the phrase "How's it going?" knowing that the person is just saying "hello". So it shouldn't have been too much of a surprise to hear, "Are you alright?" But something about the phrase crosses the realm of rhetorical greeting and lands in the realm of sincere, sympathetic question. I guess it's because I'm used to people asking "Are you feeling alright?" when someone looks depressed or upset.

I say all this because the first few times I was asked, "Are you alright?" I had to take a look in the mirror to see if I'd gone pale. It didn't help that I had just moved to London and was feeling a bit overwhelmed, so it was possible that people would want to know if I was doing alright. But no, they were just saying "hey". So, not surprisingly, my first few responses of "Yeah, I'm alright. Things have been a bit tough, but..." threw them for a loop. It would be like someone saying "Hello," and the response being "Well, it all started during my childhood..." Understandably, I encountered quite a few blank stares.

Thankfully, my flatmates set me straight, explaining that it was more of a rhetorical greeting than a sincere question about the current state of your mental and emotional well-being. One friend admitted that her and her close friends often have complete conversations entirely consisting of different inflections of the word "Alright." It reminds me of the conversations a good friend from Canada and I used to have (and sometimes still do...) consisting entirely of the word, "Dude." It's good to know we're all a little bit crazy in the commonwealth.
2 out of 5 crumpets