Chandigarh

issac_new · Apr 24th, 2006, 06:57

Hey guys, anyone here from Chandigarh? (or know about it) I have an offer of spending an exhange program there... what would it be like to live? Being a new city, im guessing its fairly westernized, but does this make it seem 'less' indian? It also seems quite happening for younger people and students, which is good. is there a large portion of westerners there or would I stand out?

Lastly... anyone know what proportion of people there speak hindi and panjabi? I can only find details for Panjab and Haryana. Im hoping to improove my hindi whilst in india... would there be too many Panjabi speakers in Chandigarh to be able to speak it freely?

Cheers for your answers,

Mark

SHIMLA · Apr 24th, 2006, 08:07

Chandigarh is a well planned, modern city. I suggest you take up the offer.
The climate is extreme; very hot in summer and very cold in winter.

Both Hindi and Punjabi are widely spoken in the city.

DanielM · Apr 24th, 2006, 08:29

In fancy schmancy chandigarh, I think you are going to have to worry about english more than Punjabi.

bebe · Apr 24th, 2006, 09:15

Chandigarh is a nice city , cleaner than delhi..and not as big...hindi is widely spoken.

what kind of exchange program are you going for?

issac_new · Apr 25th, 2006, 05:05

an internship/voluntary program. The organisation im looking at are Kesaces - Student and Cultural Exhange, based in Chandigarh... anyone heard of them? They say they have a speech therapy/assistant psychologist vacancy in the city, which would suit me a lot. They seem more interested in the work I can provide, rather than the money (they only charge a small admin fee, unlike a lot of volunteering agancies) and offer long-term programmes. Im spending 6 weeks studying hindi before hand in the hope of improoving it to a reasonable standard. The work position would be great for my career plans, but I wouldnt really want to waste those 6 weeks in finding that too few people speak hindi to pracitice it regularly.

DanielM · Apr 25th, 2006, 06:15

Oh, well in that case, don't worry yourself a bit. For one, there is not that much of a difference between punjabi and Hindi, especially in the cities. If you go to the villages, you will be more likely to hear pure punjabi, but these days punjabi is inundated with hindi terminology in the cities.
What I mean to say is that 1) in punjabi cities, almost everyone speaks hindi. 2) Even in villages, everyone will understand hindi, even if they are not able to reply in hindi (and that only happened to me a few times, with very old people).

And when you think about it, this kind of situation is there almost everywhere in India. Even in the "hindi heartland" there are countless dialects, many with very long histories. Most common people converse in these dialects, but still understand and speak hindi.

So really, the hard part is going to be getting people to speak hindi with you instead of english.

And on the plus side, these days, its become en vogue to have a little punjabi flare to your hindi, so you really can't go wrong in Chandigadh. Seriously, whats a hindi movie/song these days without the occasional punjabi word, like vich, menu, tenu, gal, so on.
So study the hindi, you will get plenty of practice!

manreet_16 · Apr 28th, 2006, 21:39

hey boss i am from jalandhar..These days everyone can understand english in city..They speak really well but with lot of pause..thats it...chandigarh is modernised a lot so no need to worry..u can mix up hindi with english and ur car moves on..NOTE:- Its just for the city not rural areas around CHD..eg ropar-khara-kala amb.
regards
manreet_16@yahoo.co.in

himadventures · Nov 26th, 2006, 19:32

Yeah !

If you are speaking english in chandigarh or in jalandhar...speak little slow as accent could be a problem with people.Otherwise, there is no problem.

NO- we did not hear about organization but you can post its address.

SANJAY_DEL · Nov 26th, 2006, 19:37

aw, COME OFF IT.
People speak better English in Chandigarh and Punjab than many other regions in the country.
Better not to malign a place with such vague generalizations.

himadventures · Nov 26th, 2006, 20:03

Please read again...I am focussing on ACCENT not on ability to understand or speak english. if someone speaks in British or US -slang English...this could be a problem.
Not everytime we talk with someone from some office or some brilliant student.

Sometimes we talk with medium shop keapers, drivers, conductors, taxi, auto, road-side shops etc etc.

My intention is to tell ISAC not to get confused if someone could not understand or respond well. Just speaking slow does not mean that PUNJAB and CHANDIARH do not understand/speak english.

Nick-H · Nov 26th, 2006, 20:33

Very true!

Chennai is full of English speakers --- many simply do not understand my accent. They say I talk too fast.

I say, how can a Tamilian accuse anyone else of talking fast!!!!

himadventures · Nov 28th, 2006, 13:10

Eh yes, sometimes people try their english with you...and they remember you for long long time if they go through the conversation with you without difficulty. Problem is not language...it is accent. I myself sometimes feel that IRISH ACCENT requires more concentration

julesa · Dec 25th, 2006, 14:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick-H

Very true!

Chennai is full of English speakers --- many simply do not understand my accent. They say I talk too fast.

i'm from australia and i don't understand the english from some parts of that country

Apr 24th, 2006, 06:57	#1
issac_new Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Dorset UK Posts: 28	Chandigarh Hey guys, anyone here from Chandigarh? (or know about it) I have an offer of spending an exhange program there... what would it be like to live? Being a new city, im guessing its fairly westernized, but does this make it seem 'less' indian? It also seems quite happening for younger people and students, which is good. is there a large portion of westerners there or would I stand out? Lastly... anyone know what proportion of people there speak hindi and panjabi? I can only find details for Panjab and Haryana. Im hoping to improove my hindi whilst in india... would there be too many Panjabi speakers in Chandigarh to be able to speak it freely? Cheers for your answers, Mark Last edited by machadinha : Dec 25th, 2006 at 14:36. Reason: moved to "moving to other cities" forum

Apr 24th, 2006, 08:07	#2
SHIMLA Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Yangon, MYANMAR Posts: 4,125	Chandigarh is a well planned, modern city. I suggest you take up the offer. The climate is extreme; very hot in summer and very cold in winter. Both Hindi and Punjabi are widely spoken in the city. __________________ Whoever said money can't buy happiness didn't know where to shop !

Nov 26th, 2006, 19:32	#8
himadventures Maha Guru Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: India Posts: 1,070	Yeah ! If you are speaking english in chandigarh or in jalandhar...speak little slow as accent could be a problem with people.Otherwise, there is no problem. NO- we did not hear about organization but you can post its address. Last edited by himadventures : Nov 26th, 2006 at 20:43.

Nov 26th, 2006, 20:03	#10
himadventures Maha Guru Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: India Posts: 1,070	Please read again...I am focussing on ACCENT not on ability to understand or speak english. if someone speaks in British or US -slang English...this could be a problem. Not everytime we talk with someone from some office or some brilliant student. Sometimes we talk with medium shop keapers, drivers, conductors, taxi, auto, road-side shops etc etc. My intention is to tell ISAC not to get confused if someone could not understand or respond well. Just speaking slow does not mean that PUNJAB and CHANDIARH do not understand/speak english. Last edited by himadventures : Nov 26th, 2006 at 20:41. Reason: wrong spellings !

Nov 26th, 2006, 20:33	#11
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 26,897	Very true! Chennai is full of English speakers --- many simply do not understand my accent. They say I talk too fast. I say, how can a Tamilian accuse anyone else of talking fast!!!! __________________ . Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

Apr 24th, 2006, 08:29	#3
DanielM Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Lucknow/Austin Posts: 45	In fancy schmancy chandigarh, I think you are going to have to worry about english more than Punjabi.

Apr 24th, 2006, 09:15	#4
bebe Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: San Francisco Posts: 9	Chandigarh is a nice city , cleaner than delhi..and not as big...hindi is widely spoken. what kind of exchange program are you going for?

Apr 25th, 2006, 05:05	#5
issac_new Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Dorset UK Posts: 28	an internship/voluntary program. The organisation im looking at are Kesaces - Student and Cultural Exhange, based in Chandigarh... anyone heard of them? They say they have a speech therapy/assistant psychologist vacancy in the city, which would suit me a lot. They seem more interested in the work I can provide, rather than the money (they only charge a small admin fee, unlike a lot of volunteering agancies) and offer long-term programmes. Im spending 6 weeks studying hindi before hand in the hope of improoving it to a reasonable standard. The work position would be great for my career plans, but I wouldnt really want to waste those 6 weeks in finding that too few people speak hindi to pracitice it regularly.

Apr 25th, 2006, 06:15	#6
DanielM Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Lucknow/Austin Posts: 45	Oh, well in that case, don't worry yourself a bit. For one, there is not that much of a difference between punjabi and Hindi, especially in the cities. If you go to the villages, you will be more likely to hear pure punjabi, but these days punjabi is inundated with hindi terminology in the cities. What I mean to say is that 1) in punjabi cities, almost everyone speaks hindi. 2) Even in villages, everyone will understand hindi, even if they are not able to reply in hindi (and that only happened to me a few times, with very old people). And when you think about it, this kind of situation is there almost everywhere in India. Even in the "hindi heartland" there are countless dialects, many with very long histories. Most common people converse in these dialects, but still understand and speak hindi. So really, the hard part is going to be getting people to speak hindi with you instead of english. And on the plus side, these days, its become en vogue to have a little punjabi flare to your hindi, so you really can't go wrong in Chandigadh. Seriously, whats a hindi movie/song these days without the occasional punjabi word, like vich, menu, tenu, gal, so on. So study the hindi, you will get plenty of practice!

Apr 28th, 2006, 21:39	#7
manreet_16 On the Move Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Canada\India Posts: 359	hey boss i am from jalandhar..These days everyone can understand english in city..They speak really well but with lot of pause..thats it...chandigarh is modernised a lot so no need to worry..u can mix up hindi with english and ur car moves on..NOTE:- Its just for the city not rural areas around CHD..eg ropar-khara-kala amb. regards manreet_16@yahoo.co.in

Nov 26th, 2006, 19:37	#9
SANJAY_DEL Account Closed Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: NEW DELHI, INDIA Posts: 1,351	aw, COME OFF IT. People speak better English in Chandigarh and Punjab than many other regions in the country. Better not to malign a place with such vague generalizations.

Nov 28th, 2006, 13:10	#12
himadventures Maha Guru Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: India Posts: 1,070	Eh yes, sometimes people try their english with you...and they remember you for long long time if they go through the conversation with you without difficulty. Problem is not language...it is accent. I myself sometimes feel that IRISH ACCENT requires more concentration

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