civilizations, for totally different reasons). Status seems to play a less important role than in the Sinic, Korean, and Japanese civilizations. Communication between the sexes is absolutely normal in Europe, whereas it is traditionally very rare in the Arabic civilization. A dual system of pronouns is used in the vast majority of European languages: Romance, such as French, or Spanish (which also exists in Argentina, Uruguay, Guatemala [vos vs. usted], German, Slavic languages [e.g. Russ. ty vs. vy]; it has also been said that the American dialect form y'all is/was occasionally used as a formal address pronoun: see y'all). There are also tendencies in the nominal series of address terms, which distinguish Europe from other civilizations. In private, Europeans nowadays quickly agree to address each other by the first name; but in business communication, one should first use the correct title, even if a change toward less formal addressing may occur quite rapidly. Titles are definitely more important in the Hindu, Arabic, Sinic and Japanese civilizations; in the Slavic civilization nicknames are frequently used in all kinds of private and informal conversation — especially in Slavic Orthodox countries, such as Russia. Nicknames are sometimes also used in informal and social situations among close friends and associates in the Americas (North and South/Latin), but to a somewhat lesser extent. Many salutation terms in Europe (cf. especially Spillner 2001) include wishes for a good time of the day, for health (or a question whether somebody is in good health), for success or for luck. The common Arabic and Asiatic wish for peace, though, is rare in European civilization; an exception is the formal ecclesiastical Latin Pax tecum/vobiscum. Note that many European salutation phrases are frequently (at least in informal situations) very much reduced on a phonetic level, which is not so much the case in Arabic, Hindu (Indian), Sinic (Chinese) and Japanese civilizations. Frequent small talk topics are traveling, soccer (and other international sports disciplines), hobbies, the entertainment industry and the weather. In contrast, sexuality, death, religion, politics, money or class, personal issues and swearing are generally tabooed. Any racial, ethnic, sexist and cultural biased comments are shunned and morally opposed in Europe (and all developed countries) more than anywhere else. In Hindu, Arabic, Sinic and Japanese civilization people are frequently asked about their family (in Arabic civilization, however, this excludes the wife; even the word "wife" is compared to the "F"