On greeting each other!

I just wanted to know the formal time-periods during which greetings like good morning, good afternoon and good evening are being exchanged in Asian (other than India) and European countries particularly with reference to the practice being followed in the UK and in the USA. Thank you.

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In Germany, especially in the Eastern part which was run by the Russians for about 40 years after they freed us from the Nazis, we place great emphasis on the fact that we are an industrious nation. That’s way you are supposed to switch from Guten Morgen (good morning) to Guten Tag after breakfast which for a typical German should not be later than 9am. It’s a strange and old-fashioned custom and I often violate it deliberately :wink:

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Thank you. But what about the other two, Torsten?

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Hi Lawrence,
Apologies for the delay in replying and thank you for your kind message. In the UK I couldn’t fault your timings for greetings - what I have to add is that they would probably be mainly used in official settings such as on radio and TV when something is going to be announced or to start a news bulletin. These greetings would be kept to by the older generation since today’s communication between people is far less formal. This is very much in line with the widespread habit of using first names. I have no objection to this at all but there is a part of that still feels slightly surprised when large companies like British Gas for example send me an email about my payments or the increases in prices with - Hi Alan.

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Thank you very much for your reply, Alan.

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Torsten, let me also say that people follow various timings here in India. But I recommend good morning from 12 am to 01 pm, good afternoon from 01 pm to 5 pm and good evening from 05 pm to 12 am. This is in tune with the work hours and the lunch time observed by employees in most fields whether in the private or public sector.

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