What are you doing to learn Hindi?

[pcgamer]

I have noticed that there are quite a few people like Meera that are enthusiastic about learning Hindi. I have to admit that I am quite surprised to see the number of people that are willing to learn this language. Anyways, what's your preferred way of learning this language?

[Meera]

For me, I had use course books with audio. When I first started learning Hindi there was absolutely nothing to learn Hindi with except books and the only modern book for it I found was the Teach Yourself Hindi series by Rupert Snell. So I ended up using that when I first started and I was young and didn't really know how to teach myself a language and he uses a lot of grammar terms I didn't understand so I used to just copy sentences and read the dialogues. When I got older I ended up going through the book (and I still look it at it now!) but now I use grammars, workbooks and I try to translate songs and dialogues from films. I also read newspapers and websites online, but it's kind of sad that there isn't  a lot of websites available in Hindi   I also get Hindi statelite channels here so I try to watch them as much as possible, listen to Hindi music, watch the movies etc. My parents also got me Hindi Rosetta Stone and I'm on level 2 in it now and I don't know how good it really is but it is definitely helping. I also go to many Indian shops around here and try to speak to workers only in Hindi, which sometimes is hard because for some reason around here we have tons of Guajarati's that say they understand Hindi but can't speak very well. My goal is to hopefully be fluent in Hindi/Urdu one day, I like to learn phrases in a lot of languages but the only I want to be fluent in is Hindi/Urdu  :grin:

[pcgamer]

For me, I had use course books with audio. When I first started learning Hindi there was absolutely nothing to learn Hindi with except books and the only modern book for it I found was the Teach Yourself Hindi series by Rupert Snell. So I ended up using that when I first started and I was young and didn't really know how to teach myself a language and he uses a lot of grammar terms I didn't understand so I used to just copy sentences and read the dialogues. When I got older I ended up going through the book (and I still look it at it now!) but now I use grammars, workbooks and I try to translate songs and dialogues from films. I also read newspapers and websites online, but it's kind of sad that there isn't  a lot of websites available in Hindi   I also get Hindi statelite channels here so I try to watch them as much as possible, listen to Hindi music, watch the movies etc. My parents also got me Hindi Rosetta Stone and I'm on level 2 in it now and I don't know how good it really is but it is definitely helping. I also go to many Indian shops around here and try to speak to workers only in Hindi, which sometimes is hard because for some reason around here we have tons of Guajarati's that say they understand Hindi but can't speak very well. My goal is to hopefully be fluent in Hindi/Urdu one day, I like to learn phrases in a lot of languages but the only I want to be fluent in is Hindi/Urdu  :grin:

Wow, you have tired a lot of stuff in the past, haven't you? Keep it up

I can say the same for English language.  few months ago, my English was really broken, but I have  improved a lot in such a short span of time

[Meera]

Yeah I think to be good in a langauge you have to use it everyday, otherwise it will be hard to get the hang of it.

[pcgamer]

Yeah I think to be good in a langauge you have to use it everyday, otherwise it will be hard to get the hang of it.

Yes, true that. You have to bring it to your life as well. I tend to practice English with my GF even though it's not as good as her's. I still fumble a lot, but I ma improving. Also, writing more is a big help.

[caparica007]

I've studied Hindi maybe 15 years ago because I was working with a publishing house that wanted to introduce a book in India. Probably I lost my time because for what I can see most people there can read English right?  :indian:

[SpiralArchitect]

I've studied Hindi maybe 15 years ago because I was working with a publishing house that wanted to introduce a book in India. Probably I lost my time because for what I can see most people there can read English right?  :indian:

Not really. From what I can see only a small percentage of the general population has a good command over the language. There is a fair percentage which can just about get by but most people who don't live in the big cities are fairly weak in their command over the language.

[Meera]

I've studied Hindi maybe 15 years ago because I was working with a publishing house that wanted to introduce a book in India. Probably I lost my time because for what I can see most people there can read English right?  :indian:

I wouldn't say so. Knowing Hindi would have build a rapport with native speakers in India and you probably would be more respected if you know the language. Plus if you were going to India, Hindi would help you out a lot. But it depends where you were going in India, for example if the publishing house was in Calcutta you should do Bengali and not Hindi, or if it was in Tamil Nadu you should learn phrases in Tamil. But if you went in a Hindi speaking part Hindi would be a huge plus in India.

[caparica007]

India is a huge country, how many languages are spoken in your country? How's the literacy level from the people that don't speak English, can they read and write Hindi or their other native language?

[Meera]

India is a huge country, how many languages are spoken in your country? How's the literacy level from the people that don't speak English, can they read and write Hindi or their other native language?

There are hundreds of diffirent languages spoken in India. The most spoken are:

1.Hindi

2.Bengali

3.Telugu

4.Marathi

5.Tamil

6.Urdu

7.Gujarati

8.Kannada

9.Malayalam

10.Oriya

11.Punjabi

12.Assamese

You can see the complete list here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_number_of_native_speakers_in_India

Most of North India speaks Indo-Aryan languages, while South India speaks Dravidian languages. There are language familes too like sino-tibetian and Munda Austroasiatic languages.

I'm not postive about literacy rates, I know the literacy rate in India is low but it is changing. I would think most  middle class, working class and upper class in cities would know how to read and write in their mother tounge and in English. But I'm not entirely sure.

I also want to point out that the list above only applies to India, but some languages in a world language ranking would rank much higher, for example Punjabi has many speakers in Pakistan and migrant communities in England and elsewhere. Same for Tamil, Tamil is also spoke in some parts of Sri Lanka and is an offical language of Singapore and has a sizeable speaking community in Malayasia as well. Also since Hindi/Urdu are so simmilair they are often ranked together.

[pcgamer]

Not really. From what I can see only a small percentage of the general population has a good command over the language. There is a fair percentage which can just about get by but most people who don't live in the big cities are fairly weak in their command over the language.

Yes, but their basic understanding of English language has drastically improved. English is a necessity nowadays.

[SpiralArchitect]

Yes, but their basic understanding of English language has drastically improved. English is a necessity nowadays.

True but having lived in both big cities and small towns over the past 10 years, I can see a definite divide which I doubt would be bridged very quickly. Sure the language has become more widespread in the last few years but it still isn't anywhere close to being universal as a spoken language.

[pcgamer]

[caparica007]

Wow... This is impressive! How come you have so many languages? Do you have a national language spoken by everyone or not really?

English is improving worldwide, I suppose India is no exception.

There are hundreds of different languages spoken in India. The most spoken are:

1.Hindi

2.Bengali

3.Telugu

4.Marathi

5.Tamil

6.Urdu

7.Gujarati

8.Kannada

9.Malayalam

10.Oriya

11.Punjabi

12.Assamese

You can see the complete list here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_number_of_native_speakers_in_India

Most of North India speaks Indo-Aryan languages, while South India speaks Dravidian languages. There are language familes too like sino-tibetian and Munda Austroasiatic languages.

I'm not postive about literacy rates, I know the literacy rate in India is low but it is changing. I would think most  middle class, working class and upper class in cities would know how to read and write in their mother tounge and in English. But I'm not entirely sure.

I also want to point out that the list above only applies to India, but some languages in a world language ranking would rank much higher, for example Punjabi has many speakers in Pakistan and migrant communities in England and elsewhere. Same for Tamil, Tamil is also spoke in some parts of Sri Lanka and is an offical language of Singapore and has a sizeable speaking community in Malayasia as well. Also since Hindi/Urdu are so simmilair they are often ranked together.

[SpiralArchitect]

Wow... This is impressive! How come you have so many languages? Do you have a national language spoken by everyone or not really?

Mainly because it is a very large country which has always been fairly populated. Different regions ended up having different languages and while a lot of them have similarities they are all still fairly unique. There is no national language but 18 languages have been identified as 'official' at state level by the constitution. English and Hindi are considered official at the national level.

Hindi is the most spoken language but even it is the native tongue of close to 40-50% people only.