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Why isn’t Hindi a "popular" language? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| Saim Pentaglot Senior Member AustraliaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5087 days ago 124 posts - 215 votes  Speaks: Serbo-Croatian, English*, Catalan, Spanish, Polish Studies: Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, Occitan, Punjabi, Urdu, Arabic (Maghribi), French, Modern Hebrew, Ukrainian, Slovenian | Message 81 of 197 02 July 2011 at 10:39am | IP Logged | |||||
If only the Hindi "dialect/bholi" speakers (actually speakers of distinct languages with long literary traditions) like the Bhojpuris, Rajasthanis, Awadhis and Harit Pradeshis (Brajbhasa-speakers). The so-called "Hindi" states seem to have little regard for their own local languages - in Uttarakhand Sanskrit is official, but neither of its historical vernaculars (Kumaoni and Garhwali - both listed as vulnerable by UNESCO). Fortunately all these "Hindi-speaking" ethnic groups have movements to create their own states within India and preserve their language. Let's hope they succeed. I want to eventually learn Hindi-Urdu to communicate with my dad's side of the family, but sometimes I wish I could just go straight to Punjabi instead. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Remy Newbie United Kingdom Joined 5549 days ago 10 posts - 13 votes | Message 82 of 197 04 July 2011 at 12:36pm | IP Logged | |||||
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My 2c: I learnt both the Hindi and Urdu dialects of Hindustani and couple of years ago, and I'm still functionally
fluent in reading/writing in both scripts and also in speaking, but since roughly a year and a half ago I've effectively been boycotting it and using Panjabi, Pashto and English exclusively with North Indians and Pakistanis. With family and extended family, I tell them straight up: I will not reply to anything you say in Hindustani. If you want to speak to me, you can speak to me in Panjabi, Pashto or English. If I meet people from India or Pakistan in England who try to speak to me in Hindustani, I first check if they can speak Panjabi or Pashto, and if not I tell them to speak to me in English. Obviously, were I to find myself in some village in UP where only Hindustani is spoken, I would have no qualms with speaking the local language and adapting myself to the situation. But other than that, my position is firm: No to Hindustani replacing native languages. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Gallo1801 Diglot Senior Member Spain Joined 4906 days ago 164 posts - 248 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Arabic (Written), Croatian, German, French | Message 83 of 197 21 July 2011 at 5:23am | IP Logged | |||||
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Well since English is the lingua franca, as it is in the similarly multilingual RSA, why
not focus on a regional language that you find interesting? I have always toyed with the idea of learning Konkani, although not widely spoken, since it is native of Goa and I would love to go there, and it's IE. Malayalam is also interesting to me as it is spoken in pretty Kerala, and Marathi since it is the language of Mumbai, which would be very useful in business since Mumbai is the NYC of India. Find out which part of the country most interests you, then learn that. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| aquablue Senior Member United States Joined 6386 days ago 150 posts - 172 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French, Mandarin | Message 84 of 197 21 July 2011 at 9:53pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Are you really serious? Are you sure that learning Marathi over Hindi is the best
option for those wishing to do business with Mumbai? Are you really saying that Mumbai'ers can't speak Hindi? Isn't Bollywood based there? Wouldn't learning Hindi give you access to the Capital as well, over just a regional language like Marathi? 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| horshod Pentaglot Groupie India Joined 5774 days ago 74 posts - 107 votes Speaks: Hindi, Marathi*, Bengali, Gujarati, English Studies: German, Spanish, Turkish | Message 85 of 197 21 July 2011 at 10:33pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Hindi is without a doubt more useful than Marathi in Mumbai. According to Wikipedia about
42% of 'Mumbaikars' are of Maharashtrian origin. And I am quite sure most of them would be able to speak and understand Hindi. Although, in my opinion, you will, very very rarely, get to hear good Hindi in Mumbai, as most of the Mumbaiites I have met - even those who speak Hindi at home - speak horrible Hindi, messing up tenses, verb conjugation and gender in every single sentence. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Gallo1801 Diglot Senior Member Spain Joined 4906 days ago 164 posts - 248 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Arabic (Written), Croatian, German, French | Message 86 of 197 01 August 2011 at 5:27am | IP Logged | |||||
I'm not trying to be anti-Hindi! It just seems to me that if you are native or adept at English that it would be better, in most occasions, to learn the most prevalent local language, which in some cases is Hindi,since as previously stated by others, Hindu/Urdu and English play the role of linguas francas so why learn two when you already know one? If the person's Hindi is just as bad/good as their English, it makes sense to learn something else. Knowing Telugu, Punjabi, or Orima is a lot more rare and intriguing. Also, choosing a language is not only about 'usefulness' as that term is as subjective as 'pretty'. Who's to say that French is prettier than Twi? 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Deji Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5444 days ago 116 posts - 182 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Hindi, Bengali | Message 87 of 197 01 August 2011 at 7:22pm | IP Logged | |||||
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The thing is, in choosing a language to study, you need to take some factors into account--or at least be aware
of them upfront. Even learning Hindi can be problematic in terms of learning materials and exposure. Materials you take for granted with European languages are for various reasons non-existent. Cultural gaps can be MUCH larger. Studying Hindi you will find a dearth of good language books--but they exist. Dictionaries are...not good. Often badly printed in small blurry type, filled with archaic poetical terms and lacking 50-60% of the vocabulary that you need. You will not find books with parallel texts, or audiobooks. If you do find them, getting the printed text may be difficult. You will not find Harry Potter or other known books translated into Hindi. Your best bet will be famous Hindi writers translated into English. At least you have a large thriving film industry in Hindi. You may find, however, that culturally and socially, the people who you might hang out with, go for a drink with, (if you drink) are English speakers, (or are English speakers with YOU), and the more deshi people are not really too keen on you. So that is Hindi. For Marathi, and I imagine other languages like Konkani, Gujurati, Orima et al--all these problems can only get worse. Fewer books and language resources, worse dictionaries, films with blurrier sound tracks. (Smaller film budgets) Of course it does depend what you want to do in a language. The "oh-my-God-you speak-our language!" points will be even more, I would guess. I actually know numbers of Konkani-speakers in the US, but none of them would be up for chatting with me in learners-level Konkani, beyond "how are you, how did you learn" Then the compliments would drift back into English. Not that this would be the last word. At the end of the day, if your heart belongs to Telegu, go for it. 3 persons have voted this message useful |
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