On Tue, 14 Jun 2005 05:02:58 GMT, "tile" wrote:

i have never used salve in my life..

Many other Italians use it liberally, especially when they can't
decide whether "ciao" or "buon giorno" would be more appropriate, or
when they want to avoid being too informal yet don't want to feel
servile. (For instance employees to their boss.)

"Arrivederci" is likewise neutral in formality.

Buongiorno or Buonasera is the greeting..
when you part from somebody use

arrivederci..
ha scritto nel messaggio
ups.com...
An easy solution is "salve" wihich is more formal than "ciao" and less
formal than "Buongiorno" etc.
"Ciao" is fine in an equal status situation like friend/friend or same
age relationship, but it would be a little strange in a situation like
shop assistant/customer or in case of age gap, whereas "salve" passes
in almost all cases.
Try "salve" and see how it goes.
Peace
Cris



--
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup