Salutations!
A salutation as defined by Merriam-Webster is: an expression of greeting, goodwill, or courtesy by word, gesture, or ceremony... Have you ever noticed however that we use a few greetings/salutations that are neither of goodwill or otherwise? Such as, "How are you?" or "How are you doing?" This used to be a question of which a genuine response was expected. However, now it is used as a greeting and salutation with an expected scripted response. How are you? How are you doing? We begin letters and emails this way too. When used in a letter or email there is more time for the responder to elaborate. Either the responder chooses to give a surface level answer or one that shows the reality of one's disposition. When used as a verbal salutation however, one doesn't usually expect an out-of-the-ordinary response. Those ordinary responses are usually; "fine, great, okay, can't complain" or the like and is also immediately followed up with t...