Hindi Studies
What is Hindi?
Hindi is the national language of India, a nation of over 1
billion people. It is a direct descendent of Sanskrit.
Who speaks Hindi?
A 1997 survey found that 66% of all Indians can speak Hindi,
and 77% of Indians regard Hindi as "one language across
the nation".
Why study Hindi?
- For the intellectual enrichment, by learning a non-European language (though still belonging to the Indo-European family).
- For an introduction to the culture of India. Language is one of the most important carrier of culture.
- For good business. Hindi is essential to get to the mass market in India. Indian middle class is one of the largest emerging consumer groups in the world.
- For reaching out to people in India while traveling. Most of the population of India does not know English.
- For enjoying Hindi movies. India produces more Hindi movies than movies produced by Hollywood.
Do I already know some Hindi words?
Yes, if you understand words like Guru, Yoga, Pundit, Shampoo,
Cot, Maharajah, etc., just to mention a few examples.
Is Hindi spoken outside India also?
Outside India, there are significant number of Hindi/Urdu speakers
in Pakistan, Nepal, Mauritius, Surinam, Fiji, Trinidad and Tobago,
Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Singapore, many countries of the
Middle East, and now even in Canada and USA.
What does it entail to learn Hindi?
To be able to read and write Hindi, you’ll learn Devanagari
script, with 12 vowels and 36 consonants. It is written, just
like English, from left to right and from top to bottom. It
is a phonetic script.
What are the origins of Hindi?
Hindi is a direct descendant of Sanskrit through Prakrit and
Apabhramsha. It has been influenced and enriched by Dravidian
languages, Turkish, Farsi, Arabic, Portugese and English.
What are the Hindi-speaking parts of India?
The Hindi speaking region in India consists of Himachal Pradesh,
Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal,
Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jhaarkhand and Chhattisgarh.
It is also a working language in big cities like
Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore.
How is Hindi related to Urdu?
Urdu is the national language of Pakistan, and is spoken in
a large part of Northern India. Urdu and Hindi are almost indistinguishable
at an elementary level in speaking and in basic grammar. The
difference comes in the choice of script for writing. Urdu uses
Arabic script, in contrast to Devanagri script used for Hindi.
Starting from the same Hindustani language, Urdu shows more
inclination to borrow words from Persian and Arabic while Hindi
leans on Sanskrit language. A typical Hindi movie may have dialogues
and songs written by Urdu writers.
For further information, please contact:
Dr. Vijai Dixit
(314).977.8421
dixitvv@slu.edu
- For General Information:
Dr. Reinhard Andress, Chair
314.977.2450
andressp@slu.edu - Spanish Graduate Program:
Dr. Mauricio Souza
Director of Spanish Graduate Program
314.977.2314
souzamm@slu.edu - French Graduate Program:
Dr. Annie Smart
Director of French Graduate Program
314.977.2449
smart@slu.edu - Mailing Address:
Ritter Hall 318
220 North Grand Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63103
tel. (314) 977-3200
fax (314) 977-1495