Mar 16

This is a mini Hindi course on how to say “you” in Hindi.

In English, the word “you” is surprisingly lacking in nuance.  Although “you” may be expanded into “you guys,” “y’all” or “you all,” or in the Washington DC area when I was in high school, “all y’all guys,” our second person form is indistinguishable from singular to plural.  More than that, we use the same word to address the President of the United States, our best friend since kindergarten, and the cat.

In contrast, many languages have different forms of the second person pronoun and these forms indicate number and a level of honorific or intimacy toward the person addressed.  Hindi is one of those languages.

In Hindi, there are three forms of the second person pronoun, or “you.”  They are:

  • the formal form of “you.”  It does not convey number.  It is the same for singular or plural.  But it conveys respect.  You would use the formal form in a formal situation or when you are speaking to someone older or “above” you, or to show honor.
  • the informal form of “you.”  This one can be singular or plural, too.  It is used in an informal situation. Or you could use it to address someone younger or somehow “below” you.
  • the extremely informal form of “you” exists only in the singular.  Be careful how you use it.  It is used between close intimates and for that reason can be considered an insult if used to address someone with whom you are not on such intimate terms.  It is also used in sacred poetic language.


There may be only a single way to say “you” in English.  Things are more complex in Hindi.  Learn the three forms of the second person pronoun. 

And there’s your mini Hindi course.

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Mar 10

Are you interested in taking a Hindi course?  You can gain a lot of benefits by doing so.  Anyone interested in international business should be alert to opportunities in India.  India is growing in importance in finance, technology and consumer goods.  You may be interested in working with India because you want to hire professionals.  On the other hand, you may be interested in working with India because you are seeking a new market for your consumer products.  Either way, India is a tremendous resource for those interested in international commerce.  And those people need to seriously consider taking a Hindi course.

India is just too important as a resource to ignore.  Indians are working in finance, technology, medicine and other disciplines in their home countries and worldwide.  Keeping abreast of those disciplines requires you to keep up with advances under development in India.  From the nuclear bomb to IT, India continues to make news.   It is a country full of talent that is striving to make their talents known.

But if India is an important resource, it is becoming an equally important market.  The highly skilled professionals that are such a resource to American companies are merging into a burgeoning middle class.  This middle class is clamoring for consumer goods, from cars to refrigerators.  Just look at the global splash that was made when Tata Motors unveiled the Nano.  The new urban middle class in India has purchasing power and they have wants and needs to be filled by material goods.  What else could manufacturer of consumer goods hope for if they were interested in taking their company multi-national? 

Now, one of India’s two official languages is English.  Most educated Indians speak English with considerable fluency.  Consequently, many Americans think that they have no need to take a Hindi course because they can get by in English.  That may be true.  But consider your response if the roles were reversed.  Would you prefer to enter into a joint venture to develop a green energy source with someone who thought all the accommodations for communications had to be made by you?  Or would you choose a partnership with a professional who made the effort to speak to you in your native language? 

It isn’t necessary to become fluent in Hindi or to go on to study Hindi literature to have a positive impact with your use of the language.  Learning some Hindi will allow you to converse with many people if you travel in India.  Learning the Devanagari script will help you orient yourself to the written word in the country.  And using some conversational Hindi will help you establish yourself as a fully prepared professional ready to do business in India.

The dynamic of the world is changing with India and China gaining prominence that they never had before.  There is no indication that those trends will be reversed any time soon.  Being able to speak some Hindi will be nothing but an asset for anyone interested in building professional relationships in India.  So take a Hindi course, and reap the benefits.

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Mar 4

If you are interested in learning Hindi, you may want to consider an online Hindi course.  That’s the best choice for many who want to learn the language, especially busy adult learners.  An online course gives you a lot of flexibility.  You can study a class whenever you have the time, whether late at night, on Sunday afternoon, or on a plane.  You can repeat a class if you want more time to learn the material.  On the other hand, you can speed up if you are learning fast.  So, if an online Hindi course is right for you, how do you choose a good one?

First of all, you want to assess the reasons why you want to learn Hindi.  You will almost certainly want to be able to converse in Hindi.  So the spoken language instruction will need to be strong.  That starts with a comprehensive set of audio files.  Check to make sure that they are formatted to be downloaded to your iPod or other MP3 player.  (Not all online courses format their audio files for MP3 download.)

To learn conversational Hindi, you will need, in addition to audio files, exercises in listening comprehension and conversation practice.  When you are learning a language, it’s crucial to practice it actively.  You won’t learn nearly as much if you just sit passively and listen.  You need to speak and react to spoken language.  So you want an online Hindi course that gives you exercises both in listening and in speaking. 

You should also look for a language course that gives you lots of different ways to learn.  Different people have different preferred means of learning.  Some are visual learners.  Some are auditory learners.  Some do a little of both.  Some people like to learn vocabulary by memorizing word lists.  Others don’t find that very successful, but they want to learn new words in the context of sentences.  Or on flashcards, with pictures.  Many people like an approach that uses games as a teaching tool.  Often, the best way to learn is to do a little of all kinds of approaches.  So when you are evaluating your online Hindi course, be sure that it gives you as many different ways of learning as you can think of.

Learning a language should be done in the context of learning about a culture.  Of course, you will pick things up here and there as you continue your language studies, no matter what program you choose.  But the best online Hindi course will have a clear component that systematically introduces you to the cultural and historical background of the Hindi language.  Such a component will enrich your language study immeasurably.

Furthermore, it’s helpful to many students to be able to measure progress.  Although students may not enjoy taking quizzes, they are good for the learning process.  A quiz is a milestone that both allows you to recognize how far you have come from the beginning of the course and gives you an occasion to finish the learning process on the subject matter at hand.  So the best online Hindi course will have quizzes.

Finally, any self-study program poses difficulties because of the absence of a teacher.  A good online Hindi course will address that with a learner’s forum.  On a learner’s forum, you can ask questions and get them answered, read what others are asking about, and get to form a virtual community of other students, teachers and enthusiasts.  Look for an online Hindi course that has a learner’s forum, to be sure to get the most out of your time, effort and money. 

An online Hindi course is the best option for many people who want to learn Hindi.  There is a growing number of online Hindi courses out there, so compare and contrast the features to make sure that you make your best choice. 

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Feb 8
One of the advantages of taking a Hindi course is that it will allow you to watch Bollywood movies without reading the subtitles.  Bollywood, of course, is the Hindi-language film industry located in Mumbai.  The most prolific film production center in India, it is among the most prolific in the world.  Bollywood movies are usually musicals, and incorporate melodrama, romance, derring-do and such plot devices as mistaken identity and the reunification of long-lost family members.  The color, the drama, the musical numbers of those movies are a great return on the investment of time that you put into your Hindi course.


Bollywood movies embrace an Indian tradition of the performing arts called “rasas.”  The “rasa” refers to the primary emotional expression that an artist brings to a piece of work or that is evoked in the audience.  There are nine rasas and each one has a primary color and a deity associated with it.  Since part of your work in your Hindi course should include an appreciation of Indian culture, you should become at least a little bit familiar with them.  The rasas are as follows:


  1. Shringar refers to love or attractiveness.  The associated color is light green and its deity is Vishnu.
  2. Raudra refers to anger.  The color of anger is red and its deity is Rudra.
  3. Hasya indicates laughter and its associated color is white while its presiding deity is Pramata.
  4. Vibhatsaya is disgust and is represented by the color blue and the deity Shiva.
  5. Veera refers to heroism and is associated with the color yellow and the deity Indra.
  6. Karuna is compassion, which has a gray color.  Its associated deity is Yama.
  7. Bhayanak is fear.  Fear wears the color black and is associated with the deity Kala.
  8. Adubhuta is wonder and is represented by yellow and is associated with Brahma.
  9. Shanta is peace or tranquility and its color is blue.  Like Shringar, shanta is associated with Vishnu.


In the performing arts, the rasas are expressed by carefully defined gestures and facial expressions.  In India, the performing arts are often a mixture of dialog, dance and music.  Bollywood has borrowed from many Indian traditions, including Sanskrit drama, where dialog, dance and music are invested with emotional meaning through the gestures and facial expressions closely associated with rasas.


Taking a Hindi course is a great way to learn about the richness of Indian culture.  One of the centuries-long traditions is that of the performing arts, which continues to be a vital, high-profile part of the culture of India today.  Learning Hindi gives you a chance to watch Bollywood films without the intermediary of subtitles.  So work hard in your Hindi course and enjoy the benefits of Bollywood!

 

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Jan 25

You need to take a Hindi course.  More Americans are studying Hindi than ever before.  The emergent influence of India on the global economy and the increased trade between the US and India have inspired business people and business students to prepare themselves to do business on their turf.  Taking a Hindi course would prepare you to speak to millions of people in India, as well as folks in Guyana, Mauritius and Fiji.  And although Hindi and Urdu, the national language of Pakistan, are written in different alphabets, the spoken, colloquial versions of standard Hindi and Urdu are the same.  So learning spoken Hindi would permit you to converse with millions of Pakistanis, too.  Anyone interested in foreign affairs or international business should seriously consider taking a Hindi course.

But learning Hindi isn’t easy.  I don’t mean that the language is hard.  It looks and sounds exotic to an American, but the language is easy to learn and is written as it is spoken.  Actually learning Hindi isn’t what is hard. 

What I mean is that finding a Hindi course isn’t easy.  Not many US colleges or universities offer a major program in Hindi.  Not many commercial language schools have a Hindi teacher on staff. 

For a lot of people, the best Hindi course is an online Hindi course.

And have I got an online Hindi course for you.  Rocket Hindi.

With Rocket Hindi, you will start learning Hindi in your first lesson.  You will be speaking Hindi right away.  You will even be writing Hindi — and you’ll do it confidently.

 

Why not just get one of those other language courses that come on CDs?  Well, for one thing, Rocket Hindi has interactive learning games.  You will learn vocabulary and listening skills with them.  Rocket Hindi has interactive quizzes to give you objective data about how well you are learning.

 

Try Rocket Hindi Now

But mostly, no CD can offer you a Learner’s Forum or a Learning Lounge, the way Rocket Hindi can.  With the Learner’s Forum and the Learning Lounge, you will be introduced into a learning community, where you can get your questions answered and build connections in the Hindi-speaking community.

Your best Hindi course is an online Hindi course.  And your best online Hindi course is Rocket Hindi.

You’ll be speaking Hindi confidently and naturally in less than two months.

You can try it out for free.  Sign up today for the Free 6-Day Hindi Course.  You will get six classes that will start you on your way to learning Hindi.  You’ll get to try it out before you buy it.  No cost.  No obligation.

Try Rocket Hindi Now

Try Rocket Hindi.  You’ll see that your best Hindi course is an online Hindi course.

 


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