South African-isms: Howzit

"Howzit" is short for "How is it?"

I have a habit of saying "howdy" when I greet people. It is not a terribly common greeting in the part of the country I'm from, so it's more of a personal quirk of mine. Even though "howdy" is short for "how do you do?" when said in America it is equivalent to "hello" or "hi."

The proper response to "howzit" in South Africa is "Fine, thanks" with a possible "and you?" added in at the end. When a South African hears me say "howdy" they respond as if I said "howzit" by saying, "Fine, thanks, and you?" This throws me off because I'm just expecting to hear a "hello" and now I have to tell them if I'm fine or not (which you always say you are even if you're not, but that's a different topic for a different post).

We may both be speaking English, but sometimes I wonder if we're speaking the same language.