is "hi" and "ok" used in Britain ?

OK   Sun Jan 15, 2006 1:40 pm GMT
is "hi" and "ok" used in Britain ? Ore just Americanisms ?
Benjamin   Sun Jan 15, 2006 2:39 pm GMT
The greeting 'hi' is used in Britain, although not as much as in America; 'hello' and 'hiya' (informal) tend to be used more instead here in Britain.

The word 'okay' is used a lot in Britain, often in the context of 'okay then' or 'it's okay'. It is also used in French and in a number of other languages.
christine   Tue Jan 31, 2006 2:09 pm GMT
of course hi and ok are used by british...its part of the english language
Guest   Wed Feb 01, 2006 2:40 am GMT
"Hi" isn't an Americanism. It originated from older forms of English long before America was founded.
Uriel   Wed Feb 01, 2006 2:45 am GMT
"Just" Americanisms? What, we can't contribute to the language?
Guest   Wed Feb 01, 2006 2:51 am GMT
Don't get too excited, he/she probably meant "solely" Americanisms.
Uriel   Wed Feb 01, 2006 6:30 am GMT
Don't worry, I was being facetious. ;)
Guest   Wed Feb 01, 2006 7:01 am GMT
Simple English for simple minded Americans.

Such nice people.
Damian   Wed Feb 01, 2006 10:53 am GMT
Hi from Scotland....I use that mainly, as do many people but a lot of (mainly) older people here say "hello". "Hey" does not seem to have caught on in the UK the way it has in America in spite of "Friends" and "Will and Grace" on TV where "hey" is the standard greeting. I think hi sounds nicer than hey.......here, when you say "hey" it generally means you're about to tear a strip off someone.

Talking of Will and Grace...Karen....her voice......she doesn't sound a bit like that when she's off screen....she has a really nice voice normally. That's a relief to all around her I would reckon.
Larissa   Wed Feb 01, 2006 11:45 am GMT
do you know where "ok" was used first?
Larissa   Wed Feb 01, 2006 4:50 pm GMT
I know, in Boston, USA and it means "oll korrect"
Uriel   Wed Feb 01, 2006 7:50 pm GMT
That'a a myth, Larissa.

Karen is my favorite character on there, Damian! I'm scandalized that she doesn't really sound like that! Why, next we'll be hearing that the actor who plays Will isn't really gay -- oh, wait....
Damian in Edinburgh   Wed Feb 01, 2006 9:34 pm GMT
Uriel: I've learned to live with Karen's voice.....I love her to bits, she's a star. No, she was interviewed on the UK's GMTV one morning when she was in London.....if I couldn't see her and listen to what she was saying I would not believe she was the same person.

Actor Will? He's not gay? Get away....you're kidding me.....he is!! ... it takes one to know one....on the other hand I guess he DID go to drama school...
Uriel   Thu Feb 02, 2006 2:09 am GMT
Well, I hate to break this to you ... sit down, Damian, preferably on something soft ... not only is Eric MCcormack straight, he's MARRIED ... to one Janet Holden. And, horror of horrors, he's really Canadian, born and raised, although he now holds dual US/Great White North citizenship.

Now Jack, on the other hand....
Damian in Edinburgh   Thu Feb 02, 2006 11:44 am GMT
Thanks. Uriel.....not surprised really. Not the Canadian bit though. I will have to listen carefully when he says "when I came out".... I always assumed he was born and bred (sorry, raised) in somewhere like Stamford, Connecticut.

But Jack? Who could possibly make a mistake.....

Great White North? Is that the unofficial American name for Canuckland?