Learning Hindi

[revati9]

Namaste.
For the past few years I have been studying Hindi, so that I can understand the words to the many bhajans, devotional poems and so on that are written in Hindi, communicate with more of my fellow Hindus, further immerse myself in the culture and ways of living of Bharatavarsha, and help make an easier transition to studying Sanskrit in depth someday soon.

I am wondering...those of you who have learned Hindi (or any language as your second, third or so on,) what helped the most? Currently I am combining book work, listening to Hindi radio and TV stations, reading news articles in Hindi and having simple conversations with native speakers when I can. Anything else you'd recommend? Or do I just need to continue studying & practicing?

[Believer]

Namaste,

You seem to be covering all the bases. Just keep up the effort.

Pranam.

[revati9]

You seem to be covering all the bases. Just keep up the effort.

Thank you I will

[Necromancer]

I am wondering...those of you who have learned Hindi (or any language as your second, third or so on,) what helped the most?

Namaste.

What helped me the most with learning Hindi, was attending a language 'Sunday School' for children, ran by the Mandir.

It was there, I obtained a lot of Amar Chitra Katha books in Hindi and worked my way through them as well as books like Aamoo The Mango and very simple children's stories.

Also, the Hindi Swar and Vyanjan trace books to practice writing....and I created a lot of 'flash cards'.

The best way I learned, was starting out like a pre-schooler would, then taking any and all opportunities to practice it with those who spoke the language.

Aum Namah Shivaya

[Sudas Paijavana]

deleted

[Believer]

Namaste,

Don't worry about Hindi.

Gujarati, Marathi, Bhojpuri, Marwadi (Rajasthani) are better options. These languages have more Sanskrit in them than Hindi, which is pretty much Urdu...

Before an "expert" advice is given, the posters should get themselves educated about the subject.

http://hindudharmaforums.com/showpos...8&postcount=13

How many mandirs or private tutors in the US teach the languages mentioned above and why would anyone confine herself/himself to be able to converse with a small ethnic Indian group by learning a regional language than learning a language which would enable her/him to talk to a large cross-section of the Indian population?

Also, you can try Governmental Hindi which has a lot of Sanskrit in it,

Is the Govt. of India sending tutors to the US to teach us Governmental Hindi? If not, who is teaching that here in the US?
We are here to help people, not lead them astray with our ill thought out, meaningless banter.

Pranam.

[Jodhaa]

Namaste.
For the past few years I have been studying Hindi, so that I can understand the words to the many bhajans, devotional poems and so on that are written in Hindi, communicate with more of my fellow Hindus, further immerse myself in the culture and ways of living of Bharatavarsha, and help make an easier transition to studying Sanskrit in depth someday soon.

I am wondering...those of you who have learned Hindi (or any language as your second, third or so on,) what helped the most? Currently I am combining book work, listening to Hindi radio and TV stations, reading news articles in Hindi and having simple conversations with native speakers when I can. Anything else you'd recommend? Or do I just need to continue studying & practicing?

Namaste Revati,

I have been learning Hindi since January myself and loving it. (even though there are moments of frustration)

I've been doing the same as you but I have also been using a website called italki.com which allows you to connect with native speakers via skype as well as take affordable lessons on a flexible schedule. The woman who is my tutor is very patient and a pleasure to talk to.

Also, even though you are probably much more advanced having studied for longer, if you ever want to practice with another learning we could help each other too.

Best of luck with it! It's nice to meet someone who is also learning.

Shanti

[revati9]

I've been doing the same as you but I have also been using a website called italki.com which allows you to connect with native speakers via skype as well as take affordable lessons on a flexible schedule. The woman who is my tutor is very patient and a pleasure to talk to.

Also, even though you are probably much more advanced having studied for longer, if you ever want to practice with another learning we could help each other too.

Best of luck with it! It's nice to meet someone who is also learning.

Namaste Shanti and thank you...I will be sure to take a look at this website. And we can absolutely practice with each other whenever you like

[Ra K Sankar]

Namaste

I think any language including Hindi can be learnt well by studying completely its grammar. This is particularly so, when one is interested in knowing Indian heritage through Sanskrit.

Again, Sanskrit and Hindi have only the Devanagari script in common. The grammar of Sanskrit is quite arduous to comprehend and very different from Hindi grammar. To start directly with Sanskrit will be the best.

Samskrta Bharati of Bangalore conducts a 4-level Sanskrit course through correspondence. One can learn Sanskrit grammar reasonably from this course. And, there are also small "grammar booklets" published by Samskrta Bharati. The courses and the books all cost a very nominal amount.

Best wishes
Ra K Sankar

[Believer]

Namaste,

Thank you for the added information about learning resources, which could be quite useful to some.

To start directly with Sanskrit will be the best.

I must take issue with the above statement.

First of all you are totally masking the desired end result. For most Westerners, the purpose of learning Hindi is to be able to befriend Indian Hindus in mandirs and be able to feel as part of the group. To that end learning Sanskrit is a complete waste of time. Secondly, if one were to spend time in learning Sanskrit grammer and be able to read it after great effort, it does not buy you anything. Being able to read the scriptures does not equate to understanding their purport. That is the reason we have commentaries by Acharyas and Gurus. They interpret the shalokas to tell us the spiritual knowledge contained in them. So, for an average person learning basic Sanskrit does not get you closer to the Indian community in the US, or enable you to become a great scholar of the Hindu scriptures. The correspondance course for a Westerner trying to learn how to pronounce the language is of little use. Some of us would desire others to learn Sanskrit to keep our heritage alive, but we ourselves would not invest any time in learning it.

Having said all that, I am not discouraging anyone who has a natural affinity to learn languages and it comes easy to him/her. But if the objective is to be able to verbally communicate with the members of the Indian community in the US, a correspondence course in Sanskrit is the last thing I would be attempting or recommending. We should not lose sight of the desired end result.

Pranam.