literal query.) Or: Speaker one: "All right?" (UK English. In US English this can only be a tag question, approximately meaning "Do you agree with or accept what I've said?" In the US, the longer question "(Are) you all right?" is possible to mean "Is something wrong?") Speaker two: "Yeah, all right." In both dialogues neither speaker expects an actual answer to the question but rather it is an indication that each has recognized the other's presence and has therefore sufficiently performed that particular social duty. Icelandic There are several phatic greetings in Icelandic differing in formality: 'What say you (good)?'. Equal to English how are you?. To a foreign speaker it can seem strange that the preferred answer, 'good', is embedded in the question. A preferred answer can be 'I say everything good/fine' 'how goes?'. Thanking: 'thanks for'. Japanese In Japanese, phatic expressions play a significant role in communication, for instance the backchannel responses referred to as aizuchi. Other such expressions include the ubiquitous ('please treat me well', used before starting work with someone), (lit. 'you must be tired', closer to 'thank you for your hard work'—used for leave-taking and sometimes as a greeting) and ('thank you for your support'). Mandarin Chinese In China, the phatic expression 'have you eaten?' is equivalent to English speakers how are you? Food culture is important in China and thus inquiring if one is well-fed implies the speaker's desire to know if the listener has this basic need met. This expression is most often used by older members of society towards younger persons. Persian Taarof is a complex set of expressions and other gestures in Persian society, primarily reflected in the language. Welsh In Welsh the general phatic is a regional and colloquial version of ('how is?'). The general pronunciation in southern Wales is and in the North, . The usual answer is ('OK') or, ('OK, thanks'), or maybe the more traditional ('quite good'), ('quite good, thanks').Many native speakers do not answer like this, but simply say, or in response. The use of phatic has been used as a Welsh language campaigners to encourage Welsh speakers to begin conversations in Welsh, and for non-fluent speakers to "give it a go". Shwmae Sumae Day was held for the first time in 2013 and is held annually on 13 October. In fiction Phatic expressions are often created by authors, particularly in science fiction or fantasy,