Hello, OK, Bye-Bye

It's no secret English has become something approaching the "international language." Wherever you travel, the odds are good you can find someone -- usually a high school or college student -- with a smattering of knowledge. Yet while English may eventually become ubiquitous, I find it amazing which elements of the language have become universal.

Given that "hello" is the first word taught in any English language course, it's not surprising how many little kids use it to greet foreigners. Any foreigner. In Japan, the swarms of little kids all repeating the word have been nicknamed "hello birds." (Of course, given my almost constant use of the Mandarin equivalent -- ni hao -- might just qualify me in China as a "ni hao bird."

"OK" is another near universally understood term. Whatever its origins, it's now globally accepted as the way to tell a foreigner you hear (if not actually understand) what they are saying.

Most amazing, however, is the use of "bye-bye." I have no idea how or why it has made it's way into countless local vernaculars. I've had little old ladies on farms in western China, with no apparent knowledge of English, say "so long" with a heartfelt (if accented) "bye-bye." Ditto stern faced passport inspectors at Shanghai's Pudong International Airport.

What sounds like a phrase lifted from an old Care Bear movie may well be America's most popular linguistic export. Right after "Yo," of course.