What language shall I try to learn?

AwayFromHome

Be very patient and realize that being able to be understood may take a while. Hindi (and I would imagine most Indian languages) have sounds that western speakers may never have heard before. Also, the extremely subtle difference in the pronunciation of 2 words (very common in Hindi), can cause massive confusion.

Just keep at it - you'll eventually get it. Its just a language after all. Also, best to converse, or be taught by a native - the pronunciation is so important.

PeakXV

That's a great tip. Akhbar-Akbar is an example that I struggle with <apparently I keep calling the great mughal, the great newspaper >.

We English speakers often do not need such a keen ear for our language .... and so learning hindi will, at the very least, make one a much better listener in life.

__________________
We shall not cease from exploration and at the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started ...and know the place for the first time.
T.S. Eliot

Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

AwayFromHome

Haylo

Thanks for the heads up. Fortunately, I am not aiming to become fluent. If I am pointing at some tomatoes, holding four fingers up and saying a sentence that includes the words that could sound like tomatoes and four, I figure I'll be understood. If I provide some cross cultural amusement along the way, I can live with that.

Thank you, that sounds like very good advice, I am working on that one.

Unfortunately, although I am aware of a small Indian (?) community near where I live (it's an area where some women wear saris) I do not actually know anyone from that community. Since the local shop in that area has closed, I cannot put a card in the window, but I do hope to find a Hindi speaking family with a family member who wants to learn / improve their English - it would be good to help each other.

AwayFromHome

You are welcome.

As far as pronunciation goes, Hindi has 4 different versions of the letter 't'. Some of them can be reproduced in English by combining 2 letters.
t, th (close but not identical)

And the other 2 versions have no equivalent in English (even by combining other consonants/vowels). I can't think of any word that uses those sounds, so there is no way to express their pronunciation on paper.
The same holds true for the letter 'd'. And so on.

My wife can discern most of the different versions of these letters after being married tome for 18 years, but there are some she still can not differentiate. Obviously the ones she can't differentiate, she has no hope of articulating.

But I love your attitude, and I think you will have a blast. I have a sneaky suspicion you'll want to learn more of some Indian language.

mikewill

I found a couple of things particularly difficult.

One was the detailed pronunciation of sounds that English speakers never use. Some of the tongue movements required are really tricky (tip of tongue against roof of mouth, tongue fully curled back aginst roof of mouth) especially when you have to move from one to another as part of the same word.

The other was finding it difficult even hearing the difference between the very similar sounding consonants e.g. t, th, thh, d, dh and at the same time knowing that getting it wrong can make what you say complete nonsense or even something offensive.

Similarly, the hindi language reflects the very formal organisation of society. So it's important to use the right form to be polite - not a problem in english where you means you whoever you're addressing!

Don't get me wrong - it's a great challenge and I really enjoyed it. It was also really appreciated whenI managed to string a few words together. It's just really hard! Good luck!!

AwayFromHome

Well put. Luckily native speakers do not need to put in that kind of mental exertion to produce those sounds.

I figure there are at least 12 - 15 letters that would be very tough for westerners to pronounce. But, an effort is always greatly appreciated!

Haylo

Perhaps someone on here could teach me all the really obscene words, just so I know what to watch out for...

That was a joke. Look, there's a smiley /|\

grikoo

d's, t's, and n's-

English pronunciation has the tongue slightly behind the teeth, but not actually touching the teeth. Hindi has two forms, one where the tongue is in direct contact with the back of the teeth- the dentate form, and the other where the tongue is curled back and touches the roof of the mouth, far behind where it normally would- the retroflex form. Then there are aspirated and non-aspirated forms of these sounds. It's often the case to find non-aspirate letter in specific conjuction with other consonants that naturally modify them. The example given in one of Snells' books is the difference between 'pin' and 'spin'. The first being aspirate, the second being non aspirate due to the 's'.

The 'n' sound additionally has some other variants that I don't entirely follow.

AwayFromHome

Those ones are truly difficult to even come close to describing. They involve some adept movements of the tounge, combined with well-timed throat emiited sounds, all while wiggling ones ears

Good thing I learned the language when I was 9!

mikewill

Isn't language great! You have to learn anatomy to get on!

Good luck Haylo! Great approach.

Ali-Monbeam

I love it....

not sure if you guys are helping or scaring me!!???

sssall

You could start learning Hindi on IM. I'm sure there are a whole lot of people willing to help.

grikoo

Just remember, it's better to laugh than to get frustrated.

Ali-Monbeam

Why is it that I go to bed with a stupid word in my head and the script is floating in my mind.....then I wake up and have forgotten it....lol

last night it was breakfast = naashta.... woke up starving but cant remember what funny shaped letter made the 'n' sound...