Mivo wrote:entropi wrote:"Good morning" is not to be taken literally, i.e. it does not mean "I wish your morning passes well". But it can mean "I am here, I saw you, if you wish we can start a conversation, etc".
Isn't this dependent on the person? When I say "Good morning.", I do mean precisely what you said it doesn't mean: "I wish you a good morning."When I mean "Hey, I'm here, etc.", then I just say "Hello!". (A friend got me out of the habit of saying "Hey!", because she'd always respond: "Hay is for horses."
Sorry, I meant "it does not have to mean ...".
Some years ago when I was living in germany, I had a boss greeting people all the time by saying "mahlzeit". I am not german native speaker but normally, you say that before meal, no? That was his way of greeting (informally of course). No need to say he was a fat guy