{"id":2959,"date":"2013-08-20T09:00:50","date_gmt":"2013-08-20T13:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/?p=2959"},"modified":"2014-08-06T11:40:51","modified_gmt":"2014-08-06T15:40:51","slug":"achoo-and-god-bless-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/achoo-and-god-bless-you\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cAchoo\u201d and \u201cGod bless you\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Sneezing is something we all do, but apparently we don\u2019t all make the same sounds when we sneeze, and some people (Deaf people) don\u2019t make any specific sound at all!<\/p>\n

In English when a person sneezes they say \u201cachooo\u201d (which could also be spelled: \u2018hachoo\u2019 or \u2018achew\u2019). I always thought this was an instinctual sound that just came out when we sneezed, but apparently it is a learned sound and in fact it is a cultural sound. People sneeze differently all around the world, or at least they make different sounds when they sneeze. For example, I have read that people in France say \u201catchoum\u201d and people in Japan say \u201chakashun\u201d while people in Korea say \u201cetchi\u201d and Filipinos say \u201cha-ching.\u201d I would love to know if this is all true. Maybe some of you Transparent Language<\/a> blog readers out there can write in with the different sounds you make, in your native languages, when you sneeze. So we can all see how different or similar sneezes are around the world. Here is an interesting article you can read from the BBC that talks about how Deaf people don\u2019t make any specific sound at all when they sneeze. This just shows once again the sounds we make when we sneeze are learned habits, they aren\u2019t instinctual, but in fact, thye are cultural.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/blogs-ouch-23162903<\/a><\/p>\n

Since we are talking about what people say when they sneeze, we should also talk about what you should say in English, to be polite, when you hear someone sneeze. Common and polite ways to respond in English when you hear a person sneeze are:<\/p>\n

\u201cGod bless you.<\/strong>\u201d
\n\u201cBless you.<\/strong>\u201d
\nAmerican\u2019s also commonly say the German expression \u201cgesundheit<\/strong>,\u201d which means \u201chealth\u201d when someone sneezes.<\/p>\n

After you sneeze you may want something to wipe your nose. You can either use a Kleenex or tissue (these words are used synonymously), which is made of thin soft paper.\u00a0 Or you could use a handkerchief, which is made of cloth and can be cleaned (washed) and used multiple times.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Sneezing is something we all do, but apparently we don\u2019t all make the same sounds when we sneeze, and some people (Deaf people) don\u2019t make any specific sound at all! In English when a person sneezes they say \u201cachooo\u201d (which could also be spelled: \u2018hachoo\u2019 or \u2018achew\u2019). I always thought this was an instinctual…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":85,"featured_media":2960,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,135370],"tags":[273977,273979,273978,273982,273980,273983,273981],"class_list":["post-2959","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-english-vocabulary","tag-achoo","tag-gesundheit","tag-god-bless-you","tag-handkerchief","tag-kleenex","tag-sneeze","tag-tissue"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t