Comments on: ATTN: India travelers – learn Hindi!

By: Saba

Saba — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:43:00 +0000

Hello ,

Download PicSpeak at the iTunes store . Its a fun and easy way to learn hindi . Anytime . Anywhere.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/picspeak-english-hindi-talking/id493554034?mt=8

Thanks

By: Dév

Dév — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 21:16:00 +0000

Most of the urban people use code switching between a native tongue and English otherwise combine it for that matter e.g. Hinglish ( Hindi + English) .
In India, a lot of the traditional native words for certain things have been replaced by English ones, so whenever you hear a conversation you will definitely find English words some where or the other.

But, it would be better to know basic conversational Hindi .I would recommend street Hindi or neutral Hindustani language (Hindi-Urdu) as it would help a great deal.

As for writing – it is more or less dual ( native and Roman script) but in the urban areas you might find a lot of roman transliterated native languages especially in advertisements, shops , even the menu cards in a restaurant.

By: Heather Carreiro

Heather Carreiro — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 23:14:46 +0000

Thank for sharing Suresh!

By: suresh

suresh — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 20:07:22 +0000

Dear all:

Please check http://www.Ispeakhindi.com wherein my 53 Hindi lessons have been published so far.

Thank you.

Suresh
An online Hindi tutor and translator
sskay56@gmail.com

By: Why Hindi-Urdu is One Language and Arabic is Several

Why Hindi-Urdu is One Language and Arabic is Several — Fri, 28 May 2010 17:24:00 +0000

[...] to India or Pakistan? Find out why you should learn Hindi-Urdu and What Not to Do in Pakistan. var ids = new Array; ids.push(4488); Tagged under: arabic, [...]

By: Shreya

Shreya — Wed, 26 May 2010 19:05:54 +0000

Hey Anton,

I am pretty sure Benjamin was being sarcastic when he said that!

There’s totally a political hierarchy when it comes to English in India. There are so many official languages, but knowing English gets you more places and more jobs and generally more respect in mainstream society (especially urban) than anything else. It is totally unfair.

By: Emily-di

Emily-di — Sun, 23 May 2010 00:46:17 +0000

I studied abroad in India and I never got such a good response to request as when I made it in Bengali. I was in Calcutta and working at a home for trafficked girls so I picked up quite a bit of Bengali. And though you must endure much laughter at your mistakes and even when you get it right, people are never so friendly as when you are speaking their language.

Great article!

By: anton wilson

anton wilson — Mon, 17 May 2010 16:32:50 +0000

i can’t believe someone said “glorious, English colonial legacy.” It’s only glorious if you like thievery, pillage, murder, and typical cultural terrorism. The reason hindi is not more popular is thanks to the brits. By mentally poisoning the indian people, they created an india where english is a more highly revered language, especially the higher-up on the social ladder you are. They single-handedly created a north-south/colour divide by promoting stereotypes about martial/non-martial races and promoting the gora aryan peoples as the foundation of hindu and much of the cherished indian heritage. if it weren’t for their pre-independence support of tamil nadu, maybe tamil wouldn’t have been so opposed to hindi as the national language, preferring english instead. they deliberately supported the muslim vs non-muslim rift driving further and further apart hindi into two camps: shuddh hindi and urdu.

so glorious. you should not be suprised when colonialism leaves deep, unsolvable rifts.

By: suresh

suresh — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 10:41:46 +0000

if you wish to learn Hindi on line, please contact me. I am settled in Chennai. I spent 30 years in Bihar. I served a NGO for 29 years in India and abroad. My mother tongue is Tamil.

suresh

sskay56@gmail.com

91 9840643690

By: Renegade Division

Renegade Division — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:18:43 +0000

I am not sure if I agree completely, but for Americans coming to India vs going anywhere else is much better because they don’t have to learn another language. Like I literally saw my proff considering China and India, he really wanted to go to China, but then he thought he wouldn’t have to learn another language to come to India so he went to India instead.