Comments on: Hey You!

By: Jon

Jon — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 01:31:43 +0000

In recent years Wallace and Gromit have exposed audiences worldwide to the quintessentially northern “‘eyup“.

If we’re bringing the many northern English dialects into this, there’s a rich, rich seam of colloquialism and variation to be mined.

…An apostrophe within double quotes? Am I in the right thread?

By: Julia

Julia — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:19:44 +0000

I often use “Hey Up!” when talking or IM’ing other Northen English people

By: Eric C

Eric C — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:19:18 +0000

for people 30 and under, hey rules the day. Hi feels stilted and impersonal.

By: Justin

Justin — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:16:15 +0000

In my opinion, you are all overthinking this.

Is it a generational thing? I’m 24 and my peers use hi, hey, and hello interchangeably. Although I’ve heard that hi and hey are less formal than other greetings like hello and good morning, I don’t think anyone my age would ever be offended, even in a formal situation, if you said, “Hey, Tim!” when you saw Tim for the first time that morning.

It’s honestly strange to me that there would even be a debate about this.

Maybe it’s because I’m a simpleton from Iowa.

Or extremely cynical.

By: Maeve

Maeve — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:45:18 +0000

Well, I grew up in the South, although not the deep South, and I can’t recall any use of “hey” that didn’t get the “hay is for horses” response from teachers and other adults I was around.