More widespread & "useful" Arabic/Hindi? (Specific Languages) Language Learning Forum

More widespread & "useful" Arabic/Hindi?
Tags: Hindi \| Usefulness \| Arabic
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Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages

14 messages over 2 pages: 1 2

ChiaBrain Bilingual Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5808 days ago 402 posts - 512 votes Speaks: English, Spanish Studies: Portuguese, Italian, French Studies: German	Message 9 of 14 12 April 2011 at 12:02am \| IP Logged
	I think if you have to ask this question then neither is of any immediate use so you are free to pursue either out of interest, love or both. I'd start by scouring the Internet for media. Learn about the cultures. Try some beginner courses. Study both and see which one you feel like sticking to. Maybe you'll want to learn both. I tend to think of languages as being cultural expressions to be savored and enjoyed like food, music or art. I'm fortunate that I don't have any pressing need for any language save my native ones so I'd rather wander the lingua-verse and satisfy my curiosity. This question may ultimately be decided by what your next girlfriend or boyfriend speaks 1 person has voted this message useful
LatinoBoy84 Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 5575 days ago 443 posts - 603 votes Speaks: English, Spanish, French Studies: Russian, Portuguese, Latvian	Message 10 of 14 12 April 2011 at 12:22am \| IP Logged
	Well said, but I believe that part of enjoying the culture depends on just how open the culture is foreigners. As a Westerner where does one stand? Even if one has sincere interest the general reception of other cultures can make one's journey easier or harder. As I mentioned though, the questions posed were purely intellectual. :-) I find it fascinating that Hindi should in theory be easier, but there are so many more Arabic resources at one's disposal (MSA/Egyptian/Laventine). One could really go either way. You can't really go wrong with either...the only advantage seems to be that in the West one would likely meet a little more openness with Arabic speakers (the language of instruction in India seems to be English in large part). Edited by LatinoBoy84 on 12 April 2011 at 4:50am 1 person has voted this message useful
ChiaBrain Bilingual Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5808 days ago 402 posts - 512 votes Speaks: English, Spanish Studies: Portuguese, Italian, French Studies: German	Message 11 of 14 12 April 2011 at 6:15am \| IP Logged
	Hindi has enough resources out there. There are several threads on here in regards to this. And there are more Hindi language films available on Netflix than any other language. I'm not sure what you mean by "open to foreigners" exactly. All the Indian people I've met and worked with have been open and friendly. I've never tried to practice Hindi with them because I didn't really start studying it till recently. I've known far less Arabic people so I can't say. I would say it really depends on the individual. My own personal preference of the two is Hindi. I'm fascinated with India. I love Indic music and love the sound of Hindi in it. Even a bad Bollywood movie usually has pretty girls and some good songs. I'm also curious about Hindi's ancient connection to European languages. The second person familiar pronoun is "Tum" similar to Spanish "Tu" and in fact has a "Tu" used . You can probably guess what the following transliterated Hindi means: "Mera naam ChiaBrain hai" 1 person has voted this message useful
LatinoBoy84 Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 5575 days ago 443 posts - 603 votes Speaks: English, Spanish, French Studies: Russian, Portuguese, Latvian	Message 12 of 14 17 April 2011 at 4:54am \| IP Logged
	When I refer to "openness" I use it in the context of whether the "general public" feels comfortable engaging westerners in their native language (especially in the learning stages). I don't mean that a specific people aren't known for there hospitality, but rather how they might react to an honest attempt by someone who takes interest in their culture. Arabic and Hindi both pose challenges for different reasons, the first language is fragmented into various registers while the latter is not always deemed as prestigious as English. 1 person has voted this message useful
ChiaBrain Bilingual Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5808 days ago 402 posts - 512 votes Speaks: English, Spanish Studies: Portuguese, Italian, French Studies: German	Message 13 of 14 17 April 2011 at 6:42am \| IP Logged
	Yes, I've heard that Hindi speakers aren't always so open with speaking Hindi. Katherine Rich, the author of the book "Dreaming in Hindi" comments about speaking in Hindi to Hindi speakers in American in the video on this page: http://www.amazon.com/Dreaming-Hindi-Katherine-Russell-Rich/ dp/0618155457 It's unfortunate but I think if you get to know people enough they are glad to enlighten you about their culture. 1 person has voted this message useful

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ChiaBrain Bilingual Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5808 days ago 402 posts - 512 votes Speaks: English, Spanish Studies: Portuguese, Italian, French Studies: German	Message 9 of 14 12 April 2011 at 12:02am \| IP Logged
	I think if you have to ask this question then neither is of any immediate use so you are free to pursue either out of interest, love or both. I'd start by scouring the Internet for media. Learn about the cultures. Try some beginner courses. Study both and see which one you feel like sticking to. Maybe you'll want to learn both. I tend to think of languages as being cultural expressions to be savored and enjoyed like food, music or art. I'm fortunate that I don't have any pressing need for any language save my native ones so I'd rather wander the lingua-verse and satisfy my curiosity. This question may ultimately be decided by what your next girlfriend or boyfriend speaks 1 person has voted this message useful
LatinoBoy84 Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 5575 days ago 443 posts - 603 votes Speaks: English, Spanish, French Studies: Russian, Portuguese, Latvian	Message 10 of 14 12 April 2011 at 12:22am \| IP Logged
	Well said, but I believe that part of enjoying the culture depends on just how open the culture is foreigners. As a Westerner where does one stand? Even if one has sincere interest the general reception of other cultures can make one's journey easier or harder. As I mentioned though, the questions posed were purely intellectual. :-) I find it fascinating that Hindi should in theory be easier, but there are so many more Arabic resources at one's disposal (MSA/Egyptian/Laventine). One could really go either way. You can't really go wrong with either...the only advantage seems to be that in the West one would likely meet a little more openness with Arabic speakers (the language of instruction in India seems to be English in large part). Edited by LatinoBoy84 on 12 April 2011 at 4:50am 1 person has voted this message useful
ChiaBrain Bilingual Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5808 days ago 402 posts - 512 votes Speaks: English, Spanish Studies: Portuguese, Italian, French Studies: German	Message 11 of 14 12 April 2011 at 6:15am \| IP Logged
	Hindi has enough resources out there. There are several threads on here in regards to this. And there are more Hindi language films available on Netflix than any other language. I'm not sure what you mean by "open to foreigners" exactly. All the Indian people I've met and worked with have been open and friendly. I've never tried to practice Hindi with them because I didn't really start studying it till recently. I've known far less Arabic people so I can't say. I would say it really depends on the individual. My own personal preference of the two is Hindi. I'm fascinated with India. I love Indic music and love the sound of Hindi in it. Even a bad Bollywood movie usually has pretty girls and some good songs. I'm also curious about Hindi's ancient connection to European languages. The second person familiar pronoun is "Tum" similar to Spanish "Tu" and in fact has a "Tu" used . You can probably guess what the following transliterated Hindi means: "Mera naam ChiaBrain hai" 1 person has voted this message useful
LatinoBoy84 Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 5575 days ago 443 posts - 603 votes Speaks: English, Spanish, French Studies: Russian, Portuguese, Latvian	Message 12 of 14 17 April 2011 at 4:54am \| IP Logged
	When I refer to "openness" I use it in the context of whether the "general public" feels comfortable engaging westerners in their native language (especially in the learning stages). I don't mean that a specific people aren't known for there hospitality, but rather how they might react to an honest attempt by someone who takes interest in their culture. Arabic and Hindi both pose challenges for different reasons, the first language is fragmented into various registers while the latter is not always deemed as prestigious as English. 1 person has voted this message useful
ChiaBrain Bilingual Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5808 days ago 402 posts - 512 votes Speaks: English, Spanish Studies: Portuguese, Italian, French Studies: German	Message 13 of 14 17 April 2011 at 6:42am \| IP Logged
	Yes, I've heard that Hindi speakers aren't always so open with speaking Hindi. Katherine Rich, the author of the book "Dreaming in Hindi" comments about speaking in Hindi to Hindi speakers in American in the video on this page: http://www.amazon.com/Dreaming-Hindi-Katherine-Russell-Rich/ dp/0618155457 It's unfortunate but I think if you get to know people enough they are glad to enlighten you about their culture. 1 person has voted this message useful