Why Hindi Is Complicated for Native English Speakers
Globalization provides more reasons than ever to move past “impenetrable” language barriers and learn new languages. If you’re in the market to learn a new language, Hindi is a wonderful, elegant, and widely used language that would benefit you to learn. But taking on the task of learning Hindi can be daunting if you’re not prepared. Still, there are many reasons that make Hindi an ideal language to learn. So, how hard is it to learn Hindi? Turns out the answer to that question is quite complicated.
The Struggle of Becoming Bilingual in Hindi
Learning a second language presents many common obstacles and issues no matter what language you choose. And there is no small list of the challenges you’ll have to face on your road to fluency:
- Learning to listen and properly understand the language
- Learning to enunciate new sounds and words
- Mastering grammar and vocabulary
- Learning to read and write
- Becoming familiar with the culture and slang
- Paying attention to tone and the cadence of new speech
But all these are important components of learning a new language. And to reach fluency, you’ll need to pay attention to each part during your language studies.
Some languages have similarities with others and may not be as difficult when trying to learn one. For instance, if a native Italian speaker wants to learn how to speak Spanish. Or, if a Chinese person wants to learn Cantonese and their native tongue is Mandarin. Their language learning journies have languages with similar origins, words, culture, and writing characters. So, their path is much easier, faster, and with less culture shock.
That’s not the case for English speakers learning Hindi, and that’s what makes it hard for those starting out.
Going from a European language like English to Hindi, Japanese, Arabic, or other distant languages presents many difficulties that we will explore. But the reward and benefits of learning Hindi are well worth the challenge. Plus, you’ll join a growing majority of multilingual language learners across the globe.
How Hard Is It to Learn Hindi?
In a nutshell, learning Hindi can be very hard. It is more difficult for a native English speaker to learn Hindi than most other languages. The enunciation is vastly different with similar sounding words and subtle differences. The cadence and tone of the speech need extra consideration. And the grammar placement of subjects, predicates, verbs, and nouns is significantly different than English.
Why Is Learning Hindi Challenging?
When it comes to reading and writing, the characters are foreign and exotic looking. This wouldn’t be the case for a native Spanish speaker learning English, however. That’s why many linguist experts consider Hindi to be one of the most difficult languages in the world to learn. But with great work and determination, there are great rewards. And this is also true for tackling the challenge of becoming fluent in Hindi. It is worth the effort.
Best Reasons To Learn Hindi
Just as there are difficulties to consider when learning Hindi, there are also impressive rewards to consider if you need the motivation to learn a new language. This includes the fact that India is one of the largest countries in the world with over half a billion speakers of Hindi. This makes it one of the most widely used languages on the globe and the tongue of one of the biggest economies in the world. This gives an incentive to international business professionals, world travelers, ex-pats, lovers of foreign film/music, and others.
Many people with Indian heritage, raised in western roots with no connection to the Hindi language, desire to learn Hindi to get more in touch with their roots. When it comes to film and music; the Bollywood movie industry is second only to Hollywood in the United States. And this medium alone is enough to motivate many to learn the language. It’s an amazing feeling to understand a foreign film in its original language with no subtitles or voice dubbing. Hindi music is also beautiful to the ears. And the language itself is romantic and elegant.
How Globalization Has Helped Spread the Need to Learn Hindi
Not only are there many numbers of Indians and speakers of Hindi in India, but globalization has spread them all over the world. British colonization of India in the past helped connect the West to the East, inspiring cultural transcendence. That has made it easier for Westerners to adapt to Indian culture and for Western culture to blend with India’s. As a result, many Indians live in the UK, the US, Canada, and other places all over the world. And this makes it particularly easy to interact with and practice learning the Hindi language with native speakers.
There are Indian restaurants, hotels, taxi cab drivers, Hinduism temples, and social circles all over America and Europe. This gives more of an incentive for English speakers to learn the Hindi language. In India, many English words are common-place, incorporated into the language by average middle-class citizens that also speak English.
This makes a trip to India for immersion and cultural/spiritual enlightenment even easier and more beneficial to your Hindi learning process. If you stay enough time there, eventually people will ask you “how hard is it to learn Hindi?” And you’ll confidently respond “Well, I did it after all”.
Tools To Help You Learn Hindi
There are many tools to assist you in learning Hindi to make the task easier than it was in the past. Although the description of Hindi is described as difficult, it is possible and the proper tools can make it probable for you with dedication. Gone are the days where you need a personal tutor or a formal classroom setting to learn Hindi. You can learn on your own with the tools available to you in this technological age.
You can download free language-learning applications to your phone. Depending on the app you choose, you can gain a lot of progress towards fluency using these applications. There are audio systems that focus on speaking and understanding Hindi and computer software with diverse learning platforms. When it comes to immersion, traveling is cheaper and easier than ever. And being surrounded by native speakers is a great way to learn.
Depending upon your needs, you can also buy collegiate level Hindi language textbooks online and self-study with dedication is a viable choice for many aspiring learners. Language exchange online with native speakers and other students is a priceless tool with enhancing and fine-tuning the craft already learned. A great language exchange site and app to download to your devices include Italki.
Overcome the Challenge of Learning Hindi
There is pride in learning another language. It is not something to be taken lightly. However, if you’re willing to work hard, it’s worth the effort. There are many advantages to learning Hindi. Being able to converse with those who speak it as a first and secondary language opens up many avenues of personal and professional opportunity. And India is a large beautiful country. Taking a trip there to try out your skills can be a wonderful adventure.
The answer to “how difficult is to learn Hindi” as some may ask, is moderate to very difficult. The silver lining is that it’s both doable and worth it. There’s also a plethora of resources to learn, study, and practice, making it easier than ever to learn a foreign language. Buy some textbooks, download some apps, stream Hindi speaking entertainment. With hard work, patience, consistency, and the RIGHT resources, you can reach fluency in Hindi.
Now, get out there and start SPEAKING in your new language today!
