About British people 2 — Nonchalance: What he said

British people look very nonchalant

because they speak their own language

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London's Stansted Airport

At the security gate

My leather shoes triggered the red light,
and I got an extra check

A strong-faced male officer carried it out and said;

"Thank you sir, have a good day yeah"

The extra check took less than 10 seconds, but
his words stayed in my head for a while

because of

1 — What he said
2 — How he said

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1 — What he said

I wondered
if it's "appropriate" to say "Have a good day" in the evening

It was already 9pm

"Have a good day" means "I hope good things happen to you for the rest of the day"

And I thought
"Have a good day" is used for the morning, afternoon, or possibly early evening — but definitely not 9pm

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However
that male officer, who is a native English speaker, used this phrase at 9pm

which means

"Have a good day" must also carry the meaning of:

"Bye bye" or a general farewell, not just

"I hope good things happen to you for the rest of the day"

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Non-natives tend to approach a foreign language in an analytical way

We interpret words and phrases literally, exactly as they are written

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Americans are often criticised for fake friendliness

They say "How are you doing?" on the street
yet, they walk away without waiting for an answer

Because "How are you doing?" is not a question sentence for them

It simply means "Hello" for them

They don't expect us to give a full report about our mental/physical/spiritual/financial/medical/geopolitical/industrial/global conditions

Yet, non-natives interpret it as it's written, in a literal sense

Habitual vs. Rule-based
Subconscious vs. Conscious
Nonchalance vs. Over-thinking