"Farewell" in English
• Words or phrases used for saying goodbye."Bye/ Bye- bye/Goodbye/ Ta-ta/ Ta- ra/ Cheerio/ Toodle Loo / So Long/ Later/See you later/ See you around / Have a good one/ I’ve Got to Split/ Peace out/ Take it easy/ I’ve got to go now"
The phrases above are used in casual conversation and with close people. The audience may vary from person to person.
"Adios"
Used in Latin America in casual interaction.
"Catch you later"
Casual and used over phone call.
"Goodbye"
Can be used in both formal and informal situation.
"Take Care"
Can be used in both formal and informal situation.
"Goodbye until later"
It means that the speaker would not see the hearer for a little while but hopes to see.
"Have a nice day"
Mostly used in a formal situation and very common to be used to unknown people e.g. in reception, customer care, etc.
"Farewell"
Used in a formal situation to bid adieu someone going on a long journey.
"Goodbye for now"
To bid adieu someone going on a long journey and will return soon.
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| Farewell in English |
• Real Life Demonstration
Context 1 (Conversation between two friends)
A: …….so, it was a nice talk but I’m in a hurry now.
B: Okay then. See you later.
A: Later.
Context 2 (Conversation between two friends staying distant)
A: Hei John! Where are you going?
B: Hei......I’m going to the station. My train is leaving…..
A: Oh! Peace out!
B: Peace.
Context 3 (Conversation between two classmates over phone)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
A: Give me words that you will bring the book next day.
B: Sure.
A: And…..
B: Mama is calling me. Catch you later.
A: Bye.
Context 4 (Conversation between customer and shopkeeper)
...............................................................................................................................................
Customer: Here goes the payment.
Shopkeeper: Have a nice day, sir.
Customer: Thank you.
Context 5 (Newscaster on Television)
Newscaster: Thanks for staying with us. Keep your eyes on BTV to enjoy News Bulletin at 10.
• Making People Sensitize About the Use
“I had always thought we used language to describe the world – now I was seeing that is not the case. To the contrary, it is through language that we create the world.”—Joseph Jaworski
Language serves many purposes. The foremost purpose of language is to have a successful communication. There is a diverse way of saying goodbye or bidding adieu in English. These genres of bidding adieu vary from class to class, region to region and many other parties related to it. Some of the phrases are used with very close
people while the situation is an informal one. On the other hand, some of the phrases are suitable for a formal interaction. Again, many of the phrases may serve both the purposes: formal and informal.
The use of language may differ in one English- speaking region than the other. For instance, a teen in England may bid adieu to his friend saying "See you soon", but a teen in Latin America may say "Cheerio" for the same purpose. Therefore, differences come based on regional variation.
Many things influence our pattern and choice of language at any given moment2. In order to have a proper and successful communication, we must be careful about contextual situation, regional variety and right party the message we are delivering to.
Finally, different ways of saying goodbye are not supposed to be used everywhere. It should be used according to the suitability of using for the sake of easy comprehension and fruitful communication.
Notes:
1 Joseph Jaworski, Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership (Berrett-Koehler, 1996).
2 Frances Baldwin, Fieldnotes: A Newsletter of the Shambhala Institute, 2004.
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