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Navigating Gender in Hindi (Part 2) Posted by Rachael on Jul 25, 2017
In part 1 of this blog series on gender in Hindi, I discussed gender as it relates to each word’s source language, with the language of focus being Sanskrit. In this post, I’ll talk about a few more source languages and how they dictate gender: Persian, Arabic and English! Persian and Arabic Nouns Persian and…
Navigating Gender in Hindi (Part 1) Posted by Rachael on Jul 17, 2017
Many languages have a system of gender, which is basically just an organizational tool for separating words into masculine, feminine and sometimes, neuter, categories. In essence, it is an attempt to further “anthropomorphize” language, which is already such an intimate human creation. If you have studied a Romance language before, for example, you’ll know that…
Portuguese in Hindi (Part 3): A Tale of Trade, Travel and Cultural Tension Posted by Rachael on Jun 26, 2017
Welcome back/आपका स्वागत है (Aapka svaagat hai)/Bem vindo de volta! Parts 1 and 2 of this blog series were devoted to the history of Portuguese rule and presence in India; however, the end goal of this series was to discuss the Portuguese language’s influence on Hindi, which will be addressed in this entry. Although the…
Portuguese in Hindi (Part 2): A Tale of Trade, Travel and Cultural Tension Posted by Rachael on Jun 7, 2017
Hello again, everyone! फिर से नमस्ते सब लोग/phir se namaste sab log or, as my Portuguese-speaking friends would say it, Olá de novo gente! That’s right, this week’s blog will be a continuation of where we left off last time: a discussion of the history and legacy of the Portuguese in India. If you missed…
Portuguese in Hindi (Part 1): A Tale of Trade, Travel and Cultural Tension Posted by Rachael on May 21, 2017
For almost eight months now, I have been learning Portuguese on my own. As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, Hindi has been influenced by many other languages, and these were oftentimes those of merchants who came to the subcontinent to trade in its rich natural resources. Portuguese is one such language that has influenced Hindi…
5 Essential Tips for Learning Hindi Posted by Rachael on May 16, 2017
Learning a language as an adult, as opposed to as a child or a young adult, is a whole different ball game. Most children, and even some young adults, pick up a language without an inordinate amount of effort––their brains are a bit like sponges, soaking in any new information at the drop of a…
Hindi ki Khichri Me Punjabi ‘Suaad’ Posted by Rachael on May 2, 2017
As I’ve said before, Hindi is sometimes called a “khichdri bhasha,” (खिचड़ी भाषा, both words are feminine nouns) which basically means that it is a “mixed language” consisting of words, phrases and even sometimes grammatical structures from a variety of different languages. “Khichdri” (खिचड़ी, fem. noun) is a popular dish of ghee or clarified butter…