How Casual English Greetings Have Evolved Over 1,000 Years

Lori Dorn
April 10, 2026

English teacher Gideon Ben-Ami of LetThemTalkTV traveled back in linguistic history to show how casual phrases, such as saying “hello”, have evolved over 1,000 years. Ben-Ami used the timeline checkpoints of 1000, 1380, 1580, 1850, and 2026 to illustrate differences in English greetings.

How English Conversation has Changed 1000 to 2026

Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.