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Bye-bye

M

mysina

Senior Member
Czech Republic
Czech
Hello. I know quite a lot of people who say ´bye-bye´ instead of just ´bye´. But now I heard an American native speaker saying that bye-bye sounds childish or gayish and he never uses it. Do you agree? Is there a difference between American and British English? Thanks for your answers.
 
    • It sounds...wella bit affected to me. It does sound a bit babyishbut it also sounds like the sort of thing people who have to deal with the public a lotsuch as flight attendantssay when they have say "goodbye" over and over again to a whole lot of people they don't know.
     
    There are actually times that it can be used by an adult (usually a woman) and not sound childish or effeminate (correctly corrected by sdgraham).

    If you were departing from your grandmother or mother's houseand said byshe might easily say "byyye bye!"
    Or perhaps even a grown woman on the phone.

    Another way you might here this saidis a slightly "mumbled" version in which it sounds more like "buhbye".
     
    There are definitely times that using thismight sound....well less than masculine. But I've heard plenty of men use it accordingly as "buhbye."

    It's like many things in language; some will swear they'd never use itwhile some could care less and use it freely.
     
    If you actually pronounce it as "bye-bye," it sounds extremely patronizing or childish — you're talking down to the person. It's the type of thing you would say to a toddler or infant. This is because toddlers tend to repeat stressed syllables that they hear. Dinner becomes "din-din," Dad becomes "dada," Goodbye/bye becomes "bye-bye."

    This "motherly" tone to it may be why it doesn't sound as bad coming from a female of maternal age or a grandmother.

    I agree with the other posters that "buh-bye" sounds much more acceptablebut it's something I personally don't say. The pronunciation makes all the difference.
     
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    mysina said:
    [...] Is there a difference between American and British English? [...]
    Click to expand...
    Judging by the above posts (all AmE)I'd say YESthere does appear to be a difference. "Bye-bye" is one of the many variants often heard in BrE (and I've heard it used in AusENZEIndEIrE) — but I've never heard it associated with being childishgayeffeminate or patronisingnor being used essentially by grandmothersnor used specifically to toddlers or infants.

    I wonder whether the status of the expression in AmE has changed in recent times: in the past there have been loads of songs from American songwriters with "Bye-bye" in the titles or lyrics (and I don't mean kiddy songs).

    Somysinait seems you should think twice before using it to Americansbut I'd say you'd be safe using it in most other parts of the English-speaking world.

    Ws:)
     
    Wordsmyth said:
    Somysinait seems you should think twice before using it to Americansbut I'd say you'd be safe using it in most other parts of the English-speaking world.

    Ws:)
    Click to expand...


    It's hard to explain. It's not so much the literal words being saidit's how you say it. People in America even say "bye-bye" without it sounding "odd". It really just depends on the companythe way it's said and the emphasis. :)
     
    Wordsmyth said:
    I wonder whether the status of the expression in AmE has changed in recent times: in the past there have been loads of songs from American songwriters with "Bye-bye" in the titles or lyrics (and I don't mean kiddy songs).
    Click to expand...

    There are many expressions that Americans say in songs but would less commonly say in conversation... (even things like double negativeain'tetc -- all at least slightly overrepresented in lyrics compared to conversation.) American music is a really poor representation of how Americans actually talk.
     
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    Just to add another BrE view: if I want to be formal I say "goodbye". To be informal I reduce it to "bye" and see no reason to lengthen it again by saying "bye-bye"! To me it sounds childish rather than femininegay or whatever. If other native speakers want to say "bye-bye" I don't objectbut if an Italian studying English asks me if "bye-bye" is right I tell him that "goodbye" and "bye" are preferable.

    There are Brits who say "night-night" instead of "good night"! Does this happen in the US?
     
    Filsmith said:
    It's hard to explain. It's not so much the literal words being saidit's how you say it. People in America even say "bye-bye" without it sounding "odd". It really just depends on the companythe way it's said and the emphasis. :)
    Click to expand...
    Good pointFilsmith. Even in BrEit can of course be made to sound 'odd' if it's said in certain ways.

    And then there are other forms that are more likely to be taken as childish. I know someone (40+malenot effeminate) who often says "Byesy-bye" to other adults: at first it did give the impression that he was talking 'baby-talk'but I quickly got used to itand now I don't think twice about it.

    Ws:)
     
    As a side notebye-bye has taken over Hong Kong ... 25 years agoeveryone said the equivalent of "see you again" in Cantonese -- you heard it several times a day. Now you hear it twice a yearas the standard expression of leaving has become the English bye-bye.
     
    Copyright said:
    As a side notebye-bye has taken over Hong Kong ... 25 years agoeveryone said the equivalent of "see you again" in Cantonese -- you heard it several times a day. Now you hear it twice a yearas the standard expression of leaving has become the English bye-bye.
    Click to expand...

    Even to the point that they write "8-8" casuallycorrect Copyright? Since 8,8 sounds like "bye-bye" in Chinese?
     
    Filsmith said:
    Even to the point that they write "8-8" casuallycorrect Copyright? Since 8,8 sounds like "bye-bye" in Chinese?
    Click to expand...
    I've never seen or heard of thatalthough my knowledge and experience are hardly definitive ... and I'm surrounded by Hokkien speakers at the momentso there's no one to ask. In Cantoneseeight is is pronounced baat – baa like the sheep with an unaspirated (chopped-off) T. In speechthe Cantonese say a pretty normal bye-bye.

    And I'll say bye-bye now because we're getting much too far afield.
     
    Bye-byeor byeeeespecially to the grandchildrenis how one says it. I claim that that's how Iand my familyhave used it since I can remember.

    GF..
     
    Einstein said:
    Just to add another BrE view: if I want to be formal I say "goodbye". To be informal I reduce it to "bye" and see no reason to lengthen it again by saying "bye-bye"! To me it sounds childish rather than femininegay or whatever.
    Click to expand...
    I agree with Einstein:thumbsup:
     
    "Bye-bye" with both words pronounced fully sounds childish to me too. Reduced to b'byemuch less so. I'm tempted to say I wouldn't say it myself - but I wouldn't be surprised to find I said it from time to time.
     
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    Agreedtim. Most times that I hear itit's pronounced "b'bye" andto medoesn't sound at all childish. But yesfully pronouncedthat does change it — possibly by association with "going bye-byes"?

    Ws:)
     
    Wordsmyth said:
    possibly by association with "going bye-byes"?

    Ws:)
    Click to expand...
    Ah yesperhaps so. Just to point out to foreign readers who might not be sure - in the baby phrase for going to sleep "to go bye-byes" both "byes" are given their full pronunciationnever "b'bye". When saying goodbye "bye-bye" is usually "b'bye".
     
    It may just be mebut "b'bye" and "buh-bye" are just the same thingwritten two different ways. Someone could over-stress the "uh" partbut that would again make it sound "less than 'mature' ".

    A quickly saidunder-emphasizedlightly spoken "b'bye/buh-bye" is quite commonand when spoken in casual settingswould raise no one's eyebrows.
     
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    Filsmith said:
    It may just be mebuy "b'bye" and "buh-bye" are just the same thingwritten two different ways. Someone could over-stress the "uh" partbut that would again make it sound "less than 'mature' ".

    A quickly saidunder-emphasizedlightly spoken "b'bye/buh-bye" is quite commonand when spoken in casual settingswould raise no one's eyebrows.
    Click to expand...
    No - not just you - I could have written "buh-bye" instead of "b'bye". I also hear a full on "bubbye" sometimes too. In the similar "night-night"I often hear this as a full "nun-night" instead of "n'night" or "nuh-night".
     
    A late postingbut would like to confirm that even in business telephone contactsall over the USA and Canadamy personal experience is that I am ending a call with something like "b-BYE" and would guesstimate sixty percent of people are making the same utterance into my earwhether shcool teacherstruck drivers or business people. The tone of it is very far away from the childish "bye...bye..." It could well bewithout any conscious aforethoughtthat "good-bye" or "bye" could sound too abrupt under some circumstances.
     
    I say it quite oftenespecially on the phone... but it is likely from Chinese influencesince it is very common in both Mandarin and Cantonese (and does not carry any connotation of being childish among Chinese--at least I don't think so). My previous impression was the same as everyone here--it can be perceived as childish in North America... I don't know about effeminatebut that would not surprise me. I think it all depends on the tone one uses when saying it. Alsoit is almost always pronounced ba-bye (the 'a' being a schwa/reduced vowel)as has been said by previous posters.

    As a side notebye-bye has taken over Hong Kong... 25 years ago
    Click to expand...
    I think it has taken over almost all Chinese-speaking regions now (even rural perhapsamong young people?). I was surprised to hear it today in a clip from a 1960s Hong Kong movie. It looks like it has been around for a long time there (longer than I expected)! I've also heard it from Singaporeans before (speaking English)at a higher frequency than one would hear it here in Canada.
     
    yuechu said:
    Singaporeans before (speaking English)at a higher frequency than one would hear it here in Canada.
    Click to expand...
    I must say it hasn't struck me before that bye bye is exclusively childish or effeminate. It ishowevertrue that a common way of leave-taking in Chinese is to borrow the term from English. In Cantonesethis is baai1 baai3. (The numbers refer to tones - they have assigned Chinese tones to the syllables.) And this could have influenced the use of bye bye in English here.
     
    Where I live (South of England) it is common for women I know to end a phone conversation with friendswith "byebyebye" or even "byebyebyebyebye"! The commas represent a slight pause. The byes get fainter and tail off.
     
    Speaking personallyI have only used it as a child or when speaking to a young child. I often use a single "Bye!"
     
    Ok. As there seem to be conflicting opinions in this threadI will have to take it with a pinch of salt based on context :). Thanks a lot again all of you!
     
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