{"id":9507,"date":"2021-07-30T02:47:57","date_gmt":"2021-07-30T02:47:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hindi\/?p=9507"},"modified":"2021-07-30T02:47:57","modified_gmt":"2021-07-30T02:47:57","slug":"devanagari-or-english-hindi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hindi\/devanagari-or-english-hindi\/","title":{"rendered":"Devanagari or English Hindi?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo courtesy Nicole Herbert Dean<\/p><\/div>\n

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I recently had to evaluate<\/strong> \u092e\u0942\u0932\u094d\u092f\u093e\u0902\u0915\u0928 \u0915\u0930\u0928\u093e a written sample in Hindi. When I opened up the document<\/strong> \u0926\u0938\u094d\u0924\u093e\u0935\u0947\u091c\u093c, it was Hindi alright but written in English. How was I to score it? Well, I scored it on grammar<\/strong> \u0935\u094d\u092f\u093e\u0915\u0930\u0923 but could not on writing. Sounds odd<\/strong> \u0905\u091c\u0940\u092c doesn’t it?<\/p>\n

This is not the first time<\/strong> \u092a\u0939\u0932\u0940 \u092c\u093e\u0930 this has happened to me. I had a student<\/strong> \u091b\u093e\u0924\u094d\u0930 from a professional<\/strong> \u092a\u0947\u0936\u0947\u0935\u0930 background who was about to take an assessment<\/strong> \u092e\u0942\u0932\u094d\u092f\u093e\u0902\u0915\u0928 in Hindi. But had no idea<\/strong> \u0935\u093f\u091a\u093e\u0930 how to write in Devanagari.<\/p>\n

Devanagari is the script<\/strong> \u0932\u093f\u092a\u093f of the Hindi language. Learning Devanagari is easier<\/strong> \u0906\u0938\u093e\u0928 than most languages. Hindi is spoken<\/strong> \u092c\u094b\u0932\u0940 \u091c\u093e\u0928\u0947 as it is written. Therefore, once you learn the vowels and consonants, as well as how they can sometimes<\/strong> \u0915\u092d\u0940 – \u0915\u092d\u0940 be joined together, it is hard to\u00a0 make spelling mistakes<\/strong> \u0917\u0932\u0924\u093f\u092f\u093e\u0902.<\/p>\n

Why? Because it is a phonetic<\/strong> \u0927\u094d\u0935\u0928\u094d\u092f\u093e\u0924\u094d\u092e\u0915 language.<\/p>\n

So, why do people not take the time to learn the script? I fear it may become obsolete someday.<\/p>\n

I find a lot of content<\/strong> \u0935\u093f\u0937\u092f is written in English letters. The correct pronunciation<\/strong> \u0909\u091a\u094d\u091a\u093e\u0930\u0923 is lost when Hindi is written in English.<\/p>\n

For example, the word \u0925\u094b\u0921\u093c\u093e is written as ‘thoda’ is English, however, it is actually<\/strong> \u0935\u093e\u0938\u094d\u0924\u0935 \u092e\u0947\u0902 a hard rolled dental ‘d’ sound when pronounced in Hindi, ‘thodda’.<\/p>\n

So, why is it exactly<\/strong> \u092c\u093f\u0932\u094d\u0915\u0941\u0932 that people write in English? Is it because<\/strong> \u0907\u0938\u0932\u093f\u092f\u0947 English is more elite<\/strong> \u0905\u092d\u093f\u091c\u093e\u0924 \u0935\u0930\u094d\u0917 than Hindi? Does it provide<\/strong> \u092a\u094d\u0930\u0926\u093e\u0928 \u0915\u0930\u0928\u093e jobs, a way up the social ladder<\/strong> \u0938\u093e\u092e\u093e\u091c\u093f\u0915 \u0938\u093f\u0922\u093c\u0940?<\/p>\n

This paradox<\/strong> \u0935\u093f\u0930\u094b\u0927\u093e\u092d\u093e\u0938, where Indians bristle at their colonizers<\/strong> \u0909\u092a\u0928\u093f\u0935\u0947\u0936\u0935\u093e\u0926\u093f\u092f\u094b\u0902, yet write their native tongue<\/strong> \u092e\u093e\u0924\u0943\u092d\u093e\u0937\u093e in their language, has me scratching my head<\/strong> \u0938\u093f\u0930.<\/p>\n

Yes, I do understand in today’s global economy<\/strong> \u0935\u093f\u0936\u094d\u0935 \u0905\u0930\u094d\u0925\u0935\u094d\u092f\u0935\u0938\u094d\u0925\u093e, there is a need to learn the language of business<\/strong> \u0935\u094d\u092f\u093e\u092a\u093e\u0930. One must be a competitive<\/strong> \u092a\u094d\u0930\u0924\u093f\u092f\u094b\u0917\u0940 skilled player to beat out the competition for any role. Also, I do understand that English denotes upper social mobility<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But seriously<\/strong> \u0917\u0902\u092d\u0940\u0930\u0924\u093e \u0938\u0947, do we also have to scrap the script of our mother tongue? There is much beauty<\/strong> \u0938\u0941\u0902\u0926\u0930\u0924\u093e in the written Devanagari script. Writing it requires<\/strong> \u0906\u0935\u0936\u094d\u092f\u0915 \u0939\u0948 much discipline<\/strong> \u0936\u093f\u0915\u094d\u0937\u0923 and practice<\/strong> \u0905\u092d\u094d\u092f\u093e\u0938. Besides, it looks really pretty<\/strong> \u0938\u0941\u0902\u0926\u0930 \u0939\u0947 on the page.<\/p>\n

What about heritage<\/strong> \u0935\u093f\u0930\u093e\u0938\u0924?\u00a0 What do we pass onto our children if we don’t write in the script? The responsibility<\/strong> \u091c\u093c\u093f\u092e\u094d\u092e\u0947\u0926\u093e\u0930\u0940 of passing on one’s language heritage brings with it the burden<\/strong> \u092c\u094b\u091d of maintenance. It is up to the parents to retain their language\u00a0 not only in spoken Hindi at home but also in written form.<\/p>\n

Teaching children the Hindi script is imperative<\/strong> \u0905\u0928\u093f\u0935\u093e\u0930\u094d\u092f in bilingual households. It is great to have your children learn English but it is even better to have them become truly bilingual<\/strong> \u0926\u094d\u0935\u093f\u092d\u093e\u0937\u093f\u0915.\u00a0 There are many script writing books<\/a> available on Amazon.<\/p>\n

While English continues to dominate<\/strong> \u0926\u094d\u0935\u093f\u092d\u093e\u0937\u093f\u0915 the language world, acquiring the skills to write Hindi in the Devanagari script will emphasize<\/strong> \u091c\u093c\u094b\u0930 \u0926\u0947\u0928\u093e the skill of the bilingual writer.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"Thought

I recently had to evaluate \u092e\u0942\u0932\u094d\u092f\u093e\u0902\u0915\u0928 \u0915\u0930\u0928\u093e a written sample in Hindi. When I opened up the document \u0926\u0938\u094d\u0924\u093e\u0935\u0947\u091c\u093c, it was Hindi alright but written in English. How was I to score it? Well, I scored it on grammar \u0935\u094d\u092f\u093e\u0915\u0930\u0923 but could not on writing. Sounds odd \u0905\u091c\u0940\u092c doesn’t it? This is not the…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":9508,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3792],"tags":[3808,556347,3830,556348],"class_list":["post-9507","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hindi-language","tag-devanagari","tag-english-language","tag-hindi-script","tag-roman-letters"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t