What language shall I try to learn?

Ali-Monbeam

I have learnt to count to 20 and general polite conversation.
Like how are you and my name is ect. I like the colour of your sari.... This meal is very good.

What is correct to say and not in certain circumstances.

Trying to read it then translate is harder but having a good go.

One I knew but didnt know I knew....Avatar..........

steven_ber

I had the pleasure of spending about a week traveling with an Aussie man from Sidney last October, he was on his first trip to India, yet he'd learnt to read a fair amount of Hindi (but not speak it), it was amazingly useful.

He said it wasn't too difficult to learn and tried to teach me, a complete waste of time as I'm still struggling with English.

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anish

Hi Ali Mombeam,

I think Hindi is more valuable in India because of our national language. For traveling in India you have to learn Hindi but for south India English are more effective. But for Middle East Urdu is only one communication language. Urdu is much easier than the other language.
So from my points of view u have to give much more priority in Hindi language for traveling India.

Ali-Monbeam

I am doing fairly well but sometimes when I speak it they tell me its wrong and give me totally different expressions to use.


why is that?

anarkali

And the pattern on a lovely pashmina I bought in Udaipur was, according to the gentleman who sold it me, 'chashma-e-bulbul' - glasses of the nightingale Or eyes of the nightingale, less pedantically.

anarkali

I'm guessing that you're trying to translate English expressions that don't translate, and in Hindi, the same thing is said differently? Can you remember any examples?

Dilliwala

'Eye of the nightingale', more correctly.
(Chashm-e-bulbul)
That pashmina-seller has been neglecting his Urdu/Persian. Chashma is correctly glasses/specs, but there's no such thing as chashma-e-bulbul, it wud have to be as above.

Unless in the design the nightingale really was wearing specs!!
Was it?

skk

You sure it wasn't 'chasm-e-buddu' ?



-skk

anarkali

No no, it went like this:

Pashmina-wala: This pattern is called 'Chashm(a)-e-bulbul', eye of the nightingale.

[The pattern was in the weave: tiny square-ish bulging concentric circles one-within-another, repeated throughout.]

Me: ROTFL! Chashma! Glasses!

Pashmina-wala: No, eye of the nightingale.

Me: Glasses of the nightingale! Ha ha!

...It had been a long day. I bought the pashmina.