I’m learning Hindi. What should I focus on next?
Hindi or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in India. Hindi has been described as a standardized and Sanskritised register of the Hindustani language, which itself is based primarily on the Khariboli dialect of Delhi and neighbouring areas of Northern India. Hindi, written in the Devanagari script, is one of the two official languages of the Government of India, along with the English language. It is an official language in 9 States and 3 Union Territories and an additional official language in 3 other States. Hindi is also one of the 22 scheduled languages of the Republic of India. Hindi is the lingua franca of the Hindi belt and to a lesser extent other parts of India (usually in a simplified or pidginized variety such as Bazaar Hindustani or Haflong Hindi). Outside India, several other languages are recognized officially as “Hindi” but do not refer to the Standard Hindi language described here and instead descend from other dialects, such as Awadhi and Bhojpuri. Such languages include Fiji Hindi, which is official in Fiji, and Caribbean Hindustani, which is spoken in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Suriname. Apart from the script and formal vocabulary, standard Hindi is mutually intelligible with Standard Urdu, another recognized register of Hindustani as both share a common colloquial base. As a linguistic variety, Hindi is the fourth most spoken first language in the world, after Mandarin, Spanish and English. Hindi alongside Urdu as Hindustani is the third most spoken language in the world, after Mandarin and English.
Let's now see what to focus on and how to aim it!
However, if the need is to grow with the language then, I suggest, a beginner must learn to speak Hindi in a first; just like a child mimics his parents and learns the language without having to read or write it, if and only if, they are truly interested in learning the language, whether for business conversations, travel, to speak with peers, friends, anybody! In other words, they must make Hindi a way of their lives! To achieve this we recommend getting hold of as many reliable audio resources as possible online or offline. A learner could select from one of the spoken dialects that appeals to him/ her and pursue learning to speak the same. There are millions of relevant and appropriate audio resources such as podcasts, videos, audiobooks, music videos, songs, talk shows, news channels available to learn from.
I recommend concentrating on spoken Hindi to all learners by enriching your vocabulary, improving your pronunciation, getting stronger clarity on alphabet identification and usage of words, expressions, phrases, commonly used slangs and connecting them directly with their meanings without having to translate them in the head from a mother tongue to Hindi.
Maintain a diary or a journal to capture commonly used expressions or phrases that will help the beginner build small but meaningful conversations at the earliest. Focus on the verb forms and make a list of relevant day-to-day used exchanges. These, however, will not empower you to engage in complex conversations. So don’t fret over it. Stay positive and motivated, you will be there soon! Take a day at a time.
To study Hindi effectively through audio lessons, to improve your listening(actively paying attention to what characters are saying and using shadowing – repeating dialogues as you hear them.) I recommend using audios that possibly are structured and addresses the following needs of a beginner:
Help a beginner, introduce himself, with appropriate greetings and politeness, asking relevant questions, ordering food, talking about themselves, their family, work and hobbies.
Encourages them to implement both traditional and modern Hindi pronunciations.
Set the foundations of Hindi grammar in a clear and logical, step-by-step manner: like building blocks, by giving plenty of examples so one can also learn the Hindi context.
Helps the learner stay organized, enabling them to prioritize important aspects of language over other things.
Enables the beginners to achieve a decent accent.
Create a Mini-Hindi in Your Home by labelling objects around their house with their Hindi names. You could turn your computer multilingual initially and then into a Hindi-only system!
I recommend enthusiastic and serious learners to join classes online or offline that follow the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) directives to have a better grasp of the Hindi language. CEFRL is a guideline that is used to describe the achievements of learners of foreign languages across Europe and in other countries. The CEFR is also intended to make it easier for educational institutions and employers to evaluate the language qualifications of candidates for education admission or employment. It was put together by the Council of Europe as the main part of the project “Language Learning for European Citizenship” between 1989 and 1996. Its main aim is to provide a method of learning, teaching and assessing which applies to all languages in Europe. In November 2001, a European Union Council Resolution recommended using the CEFR to set up systems of validation of language ability. The six reference levels (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2) are becoming widely accepted as the European standard for grading an individual’s language proficiency.
As a beginner, I recommend you stay focused on your priorities to speak good Hindi, and not get lost in trying to be a nerd starting off with grammar that’s not going to get you any closer to speaking good Hindi. On the contrary, unintuitive grammar is likely to demotivate you and deter you from continuing on your learning, presenting it to be too tough to learn! Hence, I suggest not to jump the gun and refrain from exploring the grammar on your own because it’s likely to send you completely off tangent. It’s more complicated and you may need a little more help than just self-study.
Choose a learning method that helps you reach there sooner, with simpler, smaller sentences conveying the same meaning as complex ones. Remember, slow and steady wins the race. All beginners must time their learning in order to stay on track. With a lot of free resources, online one is likely to lose focus, hopping from one link to another. This is especially true when watching YouTube videos. A huge part of your success in learning the Hindi language will depend on time management.
Beginners could also take help from Spaced Repetition Systems (SRS), which is a great method for memorizing vocabulary and phrases. I also suggest using your imagination to create mnemonics that will help you create associations and recall Hindi words easily when needed. Learners are recommended to focus their study with the Pomodoro Technique, which allows you to break up your study sessions into smaller chunks of time resulting in better focus and a more effective learning experience.
Beginners are aware! Be aware of grammar and spelling mistakes in media content online. Learn from a school that explains how to form the sounds: how to place your mouth, your tongue, your lips, so on and so forth.
Conversational connectors are a great way to sound more like a native speaker, for removing the awkwardness from conversations and forgiving yourself time to recall vocabulary. A few conversational connectors being, Um ehrlich zu sein – “To tell the truth”, Meiner Meinung nach – “In my opinion”, Leider – “Unfortunately”, Zum, Beispiel – “For example”, Übrigens – “By the way”!
Be consistent. 20 minutes a day, six days a week will get you 120 minutes of practice. Most people will have better results with a consistent schedule like that, as opposed to a 120-minute Hindi blast in one sitting, which can be overwhelming.
Take breaks to avoid burnout. Some people need to take a day off to decompress, while others just need a coffee break. Either way, you need to recharge your Hindi speaking batteries. Anyone who has spoken a new language for a few hours can confirm that it can actually be physically exhausting. So avoid problems by not overdoing it!
Your trainer must himself or herself be well versed in Hindi to be able to explain the basic grammar rules to you clearly; because there are many rules such that if you don’t know them, you can’t invent them. There are rules, and then there is the reality!
Finally,
The terms “Hindi” and “Hindu” trace back to Old Persian which derived these names from the Sanskrit name Sindhu, referring to the river Indus. The Greek cognates of the same terms are “Indus” (for the river) and “India” (for the land of the river). The term Hindi originally was used to refer to inhabitants of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It was borrowed from Classical Persian Hindī (Iranian Persian pronunciation: Hendi), meaning “of or belonging to Hind (India).” Another name Hindavī or Hinduī (from Persian: “of or belonging to the Hindu/Indian people”) was often used in the past, for example by Amir Khusrow in his poetry.
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