Hi, it seems the phrase How goes it? is becoming more and more popular. Have you ever come across it or are you even using it yourself? If so in what situations?
Regards
Torsten[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC listening, talks: A radio traffic update reports problems including an accident as well as road works[YSaerTTEW443543]
Hi Torsten,
This is a very commonly used expression. It’s a more friendly greeting than How are you? It’s similar in flavour to: How are things? I get the impression it’s a male to male greeting rather than a female greeting.
Alan
Hi Torsten
I agree with Alan. There’s nothing new about “How goes it?”
It’s also not unusual to say “How’s it going?” This is also a bit more informal (and friendlier) than the “standard” (“How are you?”)
Amy
How goes it? is a literal word for word translation of the Dutch “Hoe gaat het?” this in Dutch is as common as “how are you?” is in English. Several words (not that many but some) used in American English in the New York area specifically are taken from the Dutch language, this is just another example.
If you’d ask a Dutchman who doesn’t speak English the how goes it question he will understand without realizing it’s a foreign language, he’ll just assume you’re from a Northern province and speak with some kind of dialect.
It’s very plausible because other common ways to see how someone is doing don’t make sense to literally translate into Dutch, the grammar wouldn’t make sense.
I can’t prove this but I’m pretty sure.
I hear it from time to time but rarely use it. It’s definitely informal. I have never seen it in writing before.
I’ve also heard “What say you?” It’s similarly informal and even odder. I make that connection because one of the two people I know who consistently said “How goes it?” also liked “What say you?”
“What say you?” Comes from Icelandic “Hvað segirðu?”. It’s how you say “How are you” in Icelandic.