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Why isn’t Hindi a "popular" language? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| ihaveacomputer Triglot Newbie Canada Joined 6837 days ago 21 posts - 52 votes  Speaks: English*, Hindi, Punjabi Studies: Urdu, Italian | Message 113 of 197 16 August 2012 at 4:25am | IP Logged | |||||
There's a massive difference between spoken and written Tamil. I am not familiar enough with the language to describe the extent of the diglossia, but it's definitely enough to make written texts (not simple signs!) incomprehensible to someone without the proper educational background. I had a group of English-educated, well-off friends from Chennai who spoke perfect English and colloquial Tamil, but couldn't get through a newspaper article on AIDS. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Mela_Verde Newbie Australia anonymousangela Joined 5398 days ago 2 posts - 5 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Polish | Message 114 of 197 16 August 2012 at 6:09am | IP Logged | |||||
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We found while travelling around Kolkata, nearly everyone spoke a bit of Hindi. My boyfriend is from Kolkata but (sadly) cannot speak Bengali. He can speak the tiniest bit of Hindi, and directed taxi drivers, bought items from people in stores with that. They didn't seem to be offended and couldn't speak any English so that was the only medium everyone could be understood in I guess.
We would love (one day) for our children to learn Hindi or Bengali...he seems to think Hindi would be more useful for when we are visiting his relatives who live ALL over India, most of whom speak Bengali, but all of whom speak Hindi. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| hibiki_kenshin Diglot Newbie Philippines Joined 4689 days ago 2 posts - 2 votes Speaks: Tagalog*, English | Message 115 of 197 09 October 2012 at 9:26am | IP Logged | |||||
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I just noticed that even in foreign countries, Indians talk with each other in English. Maybe they are from different parts of India, and also i've seen Indian families (middle class looking) using English even with themselves.
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| linguaholic_ch Triglot Groupie IndiaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5052 days ago 69 posts - 96 votes Speaks: English, Hindi, Bengali Studies: Japanese, Esperanto, French | Message 116 of 197 28 February 2014 at 6:35pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Among many Indians, there is a class consciousness deciding the respect paid to a
language. Students who study in English medium schools, seem to avoid their own mother tongue either because they think it is an inferior one or because they hate it. I have seen this with myself. I use English for study and all purpose and I am strong in it, but I don't know Bengali, my native language well. Although I speak it with my parents, I really can't read with concentration atleast a Bengali novel or a page in it.My vocabulary is low.Hindi is my second language and I know it fairly well. So it's a sorry sight to see students hating their own mother tongue just because they study English. Somehow we think that English makes us feel more sophisticated, but that is not the case. We should consider how so many students in Bangladesh had been killed in 1981 just for the desire to change the official language from Urdu to Bengali. No doubt English is very important, and I love English with all my heart, but it is time that Indian youths pay respect to Hindi and their native tongues. Prithee! 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Gemuse Senior Member Germany Joined 4086 days ago 818 posts - 1189 votes Speaks: English Studies: German | Message 117 of 197 01 March 2014 at 11:05am | IP Logged | |||||
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Time and time again I see this rhetoric of Indians hating their native languages and not
respecting Hindi. I could not disagree more. I will write a detailed post on it some time. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| napoleon Tetraglot Senior Member India Joined 5020 days ago 543 posts - 874 votes Speaks: Bengali*, English, Hindi, Urdu Studies: French, Arabic (Written) | Message 118 of 197 01 March 2014 at 12:29pm | IP Logged | |||||
Why must an Indian Tamil be forced to learn Hindi? India is a very large country. Not all Indians are native speakers of Hindi. Further, Hindi itself is no monolith. There are so many dialects: Maithili, Maghi, Bhojpuri... My friend, I am afraid you are over-generalizing the very complex issue of languages and identity in India. Edited by napoleon on 01 March 2014 at 12:36pm 3 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| linguaholic_ch Triglot Groupie IndiaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5052 days ago 69 posts - 96 votes Speaks: English, Hindi, Bengali Studies: Japanese, Esperanto, French | Message 119 of 197 01 March 2014 at 2:17pm | IP Logged | |||||
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No one is forced to learn a language.A Tamil person doesn't have to learn Hindi unless
required. Hindi is a language that unites us all(the Indian citizens), and so it is not hatred or compulsion.It is true what Gemuse wrote about the modern hypocrisy of many Indians who feel so, especially in cities, where many people refuse to speak any other language than English. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| napoleon Tetraglot Senior Member India Joined 5020 days ago 543 posts - 874 votes Speaks: Bengali*, English, Hindi, Urdu Studies: French, Arabic (Written) | Message 120 of 197 01 March 2014 at 2:37pm | IP Logged | |||||
Indeed. And I'm very happy it's that way. We should not forget what happened in Bangladesh when they tried to impose Urdu on an unwilling populace.
Really? Why is it Hindi that unites us and not Bengali? Or any other Indian language for that matter? Our national anthem is in Bengali. What makes Hindi better than any other Indian language? It is this dilemma that has forced us to retain English's official status in independent India. English, despite its colonial past, is perceived as neutral. It is a compromise. And a rather good one. Forcing Hindi on those who don't want it does not bring them closer. It merely pushes them away. Edited by napoleon on 01 March 2014 at 2:57pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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