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Why isn’t Hindi a "popular" language? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| Lykeio Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4248 days ago 120 posts - 357 votes  | Message 137 of 197 03 March 2014 at 4:39pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcW4ABcY3zI
Pertinent? Somewhat so in its focus on Indian education. More so for a wonderful representation of what we deem Indian English. Honestly out of all the colonial accents I find this the most pleasant. My Sanskrit prof was like that. I think Linguaholic does indeed have a somewhat typical complex one finds with Indians. Which is why I'm asking this to Horshod, do you feel your education in your native Indian language has been neglectful? I'm curious. It would be a shame if after fighting so hard for independence and recognition indigenous traditions are either thrust aside or saffronised and corrupted by the right wing. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Jeffers Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4913 days ago 2151 posts - 3960 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German | Message 138 of 197 03 March 2014 at 5:10pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
The Bangaluru (Bangalore) example is not typical of India because it is a place with a lot of tourists. Of course the shopekeepers , taxi drivers, etc speak basic English. That's where they make their money. But travel to anywhere where tourists don't normally go, and you'll find very few who speak English. Lower-middle class is elite in India. People think that if they want to get ahead they need English. That is what makes it "elite". And of course there are exceptions due to circumstances, and there are relatively poor people with excellent English (especially in areas where English is more dominant, like tourist towns, school towns, etc). But I know people who will scrimp and save in order to send one of their children to an English- medium school. They hope that the one child will be able to get a good stable job and support the rest of the family, and they are certain that won't happen without English. They may be wrong, but that's what they think. Having said all that, I think that in the Hindi-speaking areas I know, Hindi is much more respectable now than it was 20-30 years ago. In the 70s if you tried to speak Hindi with a shopkeeper or taxi driver who knows even a little English, they would often get offended. I was told that they assumed they were being treated like they were uneducated. Now, that is just not the case, so by that measure Hindi has a much better profile. I would hope that the case is similar with other regional languages. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Jeffers Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4913 days ago 2151 posts - 3960 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German | Message 139 of 197 03 March 2014 at 5:15pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
"All over the world" means Europe and other wealthy places. An average village school in India is in the local language, and if the kids learn much English it is of pretty poor quality. And by 11 most will have left school anyway. What makes English such an obstacle? Simple, they don't have the money you have in Sweden. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Gemuse Senior Member Germany Joined 4086 days ago 818 posts - 1189 votes Speaks: English Studies: German | Message 141 of 197 03 March 2014 at 6:10pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
I have never heard or experienced this. Regarding lower middle class and English, yes it is true. There are two factors. 1. English does open doors, or rather, lack of English closes doors, as English is the language of STEM fields in India. 2. Once a family has gained knowledge of English, and all of its concomitant benefits, they do not want to lose it -- they want to ensure that their progeny has some familiarity with it. As a result, they prefer sending their kids to schools which teach english and have STEM texts in English. A side effect of this is that poor parents who want their kids to be in the company of kids who would be studying hard and who would be getting into good careers, these parents prefer sending their kids to such English schools. Its a cycle. 1 person has 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 142 of 197 03 March 2014 at 6:15pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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I am simply stating what I see and observe among the majority of students. There are of
course exceptions and many students are well versed in English as well as their native language. The education is native language is taught well and the syllabus is good, but I feel that most of the urban people, speak English as they think it makes them sophisticated. Many youngsters won't understand some affluent words of their native language. I am just saying about the typical mindset of the modern youth. But of vourse there are large exceptions. Regional boards which teach English are basically geared at grammar, so children are drilled in grammar, but not in speaking. When they grow up they tend to lose it, due to it's inefficiency. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Gemuse Senior Member Germany Joined 4086 days ago 818 posts - 1189 votes Speaks: English Studies: German | Message 143 of 197 03 March 2014 at 6:17pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
You are perhaps asking the wrong question to Horshod. You should have asked if his native Indian language education has been MORE neglectful than his English school education. **Just an insight into Indian education: In high school we used to cut class to.....study. The teachers used to hate that :D 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Gemuse Senior Member Germany Joined 4086 days ago 818 posts - 1189 votes Speaks: English Studies: German | Message 144 of 197 03 March 2014 at 6:19pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
Your sample is limited. Now you know. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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