Everyday Interactions
Learning the language is one thing, but using it in the proper context is another. Will someone please tell me what common expressions are used when two people, who know each other, meet on the street. What is the equvalent of "Hey, what's happening!?" or "Hey, buddy, good to see you again."?
Can someone also tell me a common greeting used by people much closer to each other, like a husband to a wife or brother/sister to a sibling, when they meet in someplace public like a mall or restaurant after a short separation, and are glad to see each other. Or, for example, when a husband returns from a trip and sees his wife for the first time. Something intimate and personal, ....?
confusion
I think the most common is "kamusta" in Bisaya or "kumusta" in Tagalog. The closest translation to English would be "How are you?" I say the closest because they are not the same they are idiomatically different. As I remembered back in Elementary our textbooks are in English format the only subjects I remembered not in English are Tagalog and Philippines History.
Some add "na" as in "Kumusta na?" if I translated this word by word or to the closest sense it wouldn't make any sense it's like saying "How are" without "you?" But then again "na" is not even mean "are" this is just added to complete grammatical expression. You can say "Kumusta na" w/o the second person rather than saying "Kumusta na ikaw?" which means "How are you?" with second person it is "Kamusta naka?" in Bisaya or "Kumusta kana?" in tagalog.
Tagalog: Anong balita? = What's the news? Bisaya: Unsay balita? = same.
In regards to being intimate and personal if you're the youngest to the family rather than giving a hug, we give our elders a "mano po" in Tagalog or "amin" in Bisaya as a sign of respect to our elders. I hear some call it "bless" Tagalog and Bisaya alike. I only see hugs in younger generations and tv shows. Mano po/amin/bless is grabbing his/her right hand and letting it touch to your forehead with the gesture of bowing but not too much, lowering your head while reaching to grab his/her right hand.