How are you?' is both a passing greeting and a profound inquiry | Letters

"What a lot of misery guts writing to your letters page. Following a spell in intensive care this October with an infection that I'm starting to see was much more dangerous than I realised at the time, my answer to How are you? is Better every day. And many thanks to the NHS long may it stay that way. Charles Harris London"

"In this part of the north-east of England, the more likely greeting is Y'OK? or Y'all reet? seemingly a more profound inquiry into the human condition. But by the time you nod and smile, they have moved on with a cheery See you later a time frame which apparently includes everything from shortly to probably never. Peter Lowe Newcastle upon Tyne"

"My grandmother, when someone asked how she was, would say: I'm walking around to save funeral expenses. At 83 years of age, I'm tempted to say the same now and again. Lesley Millard Bishop's Waltham, Hampshire A friend replies to How are you?' with Still warm to the touch. Rt Rev John Saxbee Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire I invariably reply ish and people always know what I mean. Maureen Cavanagh Kingsley, Cheshire"

Respondents give a wide variety of replies to the greeting 'How are you?'. Some answers are upbeat and grateful, such as 'Better every day' with thanks to the NHS. Others are resilient or witty, for example 'I'm still standing' and 'I'm walking around to save funeral expenses'. Regional forms appear, including 'Y'OK?', 'Y'all reet?' and Lancashire 'Ow do?'. Casual closings like 'See you later' often end conversations regardless of actual timing. Brief replies such as 'ish' convey ambivalence and allow interlocutors to understand mood without lengthy explanation.

Read at www.theguardian.com