HIYA

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MrPedantic  #146937  Tue, 11 Oct 05 09:51 PM

Since posting my last post, I've heard "hiya" used by a southern British person who is certainly not female.

I un-rest my case.

Off to have my ears syringed now.

MrP

  
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Anonymous  #533160  Fri, 27 Jun 08 03:16 AM
hiya..one of my favorite words!Love
  
CalifJim  #533495  Fri, 27 Jun 08 09:00 PM
I wonder if this is the same as the American greeting used frequently in O'Hara's Appointment in Samarra, spelled "Hyuh".  O'Hara seems to put it in the mouths of the male characters more often.  The story takes place in Pennsylvania in 1930.  I don't see that spelling in more recent texts.

CJ 

  
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Anonymous  #541196  Mon, 14 Jul 08 12:44 PM
I'm indian and i've lived in both US and UK for quite some time.
In my 21 years in india, i never heard anyone using hiya as a greeting or salutation, ppl use namaste and namashkaar for that, also in the US 'howdy' 'hey, how'r you doin' ' and 'hi' are the common greetings, never heard anyone else use Hiya except the english.
  
Anonymous  #557888  Sat, 23 Aug 08 05:34 PM
hello i say hiya all the time but i am from brittain. all my mates say it too its slang like garbage and rubbish. 
  
Anonymous  #564704  Thu, 11 Sep 08 12:04 AM
Wow, this is kinda interesting for me... I've lived in the Midwestern United States all my life (21 years) and I hear 'hiya' used all the time.  It's weird that nobody else has...

In any case, it's a pretty informal greeting typically used between friends or in very casual situations.  You may not want to use it in business settings or formal situations.  Or when you're just meeting somebody for the first time.

It's not odd if a non-native speaker says it, as long as it's in the correct context.
  
Anonymous  #570409  Thu, 25 Sep 08 07:49 PM
It's pretty common in UK where I grew up, pronounced more like Hi-yuh,but only with people you already know

Nik
  
MrPedantic  #570792  Fri, 26 Sep 08 10:36 PM

I wouldn't entirely agree; I've been hiya'd by strangers in the UK. So to speak.

MrP

  
Feebs11  #570808  Sat, 27 Sep 08 12:44 AM
 I always took it to be a conflation of "Hi" and "Ya [You] all".
  
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