The example I always give of a high-frequency, low-semantic-content phrase is, “Hi, how are you?” As a greeting, it’s not really a request for a health-status update, but a formula that says something like, “I confirm your presence. Channels for communication are now open. We may have a conversation, or just go our separate ways after acknowledging one another’s existence, but without exchanging actual information.”

Dennis Baron, professor of English and linguistics at the University of Illinois. (#)