Is there a name for questions where the answer is not important?

Question

A question where you don't care about the answer.

e.g. "how are you today?" where you don't actually care what the answer is. Is it a polite question?

"Greeting question," perhaps. However, that's only considering a wishing/greeting like "How are you!" There are other questions that do not expect an answer, called rhetorical questions. Please also visit [ell.se] — Kris, Feb 05 '15 at 11:10
@Kris Why would this native speaker need to go to ELL to find out about meta-language? I don't understand ... :( — Araucaria - Him, Feb 06 '15 at 00:33
@Araucaria I never think ELL is for non-native speakers alone per se -- it's for all learners (esp., non-native speakers, if you please). :) — Kris, Feb 06 '15 at 06:53

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 05 '15 at 10:43

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A cliché or a set phrase:

(Linguistics) a word or expression that has lost much of its force through overexposure.

answered Feb 05 '15 at 10:43

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 05 '15 at 11:34

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A formality? We exchanged the usual formalities.

answered Feb 05 '15 at 11:34

djna

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Feb 05 '15 at 11:44

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phatic talk is the phrase you're looking for

answered Feb 05 '15 at 11:44

Lewis

Please give a rationale for your answer. – Matt E. Эллен Feb 05 '15 at 11:45
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Whilst your answer is linguistically correct, you should always back up your statement. Especially when suggesting a term that is most likely not common knowledge - I did google, others may not. – Stephie Feb 05 '15 at 17:33

3 Answers3