Snell R. , Weightman S. Teach Yourself Hindi. - Hodder & Stoughton,
1989. - 305 p.
This course is designed to enable those with no previous knowledge of Hindi to reach the point where they can communicate effectively in Hindi and can read, write and converse on a range of topics. It is also intended for speakers of other Indian languages who may or may not know some Hindi already, but who wish to be able to speak and write India's national language accurately and with increasing fluency. The course has also proved effective as teaching material for both class and individual tuition.
The Hindi presented in this course is primarily colloquial and practical, and here some explanation of the position of Hindi may be helpful. Hindi is the national language of India; but, as the language map (Fig. 1) shows, it is one of several languages used in different parts of the sub-continent. 'National', then, has to be understood as meaning the 'official' or 'link' language. Although the map shows the homeland of Hindi to be in the North, it is studied, taught, spoken and understood widely throughout the sub-continent, whether as mother tongue or as a second or a third language.
Hindi has a special relationship with Urdu: their grammar is virtually identical, and they have a substantial vocabulary in common. The two languages, however, quickly part company, because Urdu is written from right to left in a modified form of the Arabic script and has drawn the bulk of its vocabulary from Persian and Arabic, while Hindi is written in the Devanagari script and, in common with other Indian languages, has drawn much of its vocabulary from Sanskrit. Like all languages, Hindi has many different styles and speech registers, appropriate in different contexts. At the most colloquial level it reflects more the common ground with Urdu, while in formal and official contexts a more Sanskritized style is found. The language of this course is that which is used unselfconsciously by Hindi speakers and writers in the various, mainly informal, situations which arc introduced. The more formal Sanskritized Hindi is best leat after acquiring the basic communicative competence which is the primary aim of this course. We have chosen not to include here many of the English words which some Hindi speakers use freely in their conversations.
Hindi is a most enjoyable language, and is not difficult to lea. By the time you finish this course, you should be able to handle a wide range of the topics and subjects that occur in everyday situations. A good command of Hindi is an entry into a fascinating and richly diversified culture, and well worth the effort needed to acquire it.
How to use the course
The course is divided into 18 units. Each unit contains two Hindi dialogues with deliberately close and literal English translations, two sections of grammatical explanation with examples, exercises on the new material introduced by the unit (usually including a reading passage), and in Units 1-15, a vocabulary of new words. There are also six Appendices, containing material for reference.
There is a key to all the exercises, and a complete end vocabulary of all the words in the course.
You should begin by working carefully through the section on pronunciation and leaing the characters of the Devanagari script. Roman transliteration is given for all the Devanagari text up to Unit 5, by which time you should have mastered the script completely; as a guide to pronunciation we have also included Roman transliteration throughout the end vocabulary. (Transliteration has been dropped from the exercises after Unit
3. ) Although the book can be used entirely on its own, we do urge you if possible to use the cassette and/or to enlist the help of a native speaker when working on the pronunciation, since the sound system of Hindi is different from that of European languages and it is important to develop accurate pronunciation at the initial stage. We have tried to describe the sounds as clearly as possible, but you should be aware that this can only be an approximate guide.
There are two ways in which you can approach each unit. Either you can lea the dialogue and its meaning (ideally by hearing and repeating it) and then work through the grammar section to understand exactly how it comes to mean what it does; or you can work through the grammar section first and then tu back to the dialogue. It is very important not to move on before you have done two things: mastered the dialogue, and fully digested all the grammar section and its examples. New words arc introduced in the dialogues, in the examples to the grammar sections, and in the reading passages. Not all the points given in the grammar sections are illustrated in the dialogues, so you must lea both thoroughly. When you have completed the two dialogues and the grammar sections of a unit, then work on the exercises, checking with the key at the back. Finally, use the vocabulary given in the unit to test yourself on all the words in that unit. We strongly recommend that as you progress, you continually revise the previous units also.
In our grammatical explanations we have aimed to be as clear and untechnical as possible, so the lack of a linguistic background need not be a cause for conce. Although we do not claim to have covered every conceivable feature of Hindi, in practice you have very nearly the complete grammatical structure of the language. The vocabulary has had to be limited to about 2000 words, and we are very conscious of the many commonly used words and expressions for which space could not be found; your vocabulary will, however, increase quickly as you converse and read more. It is a good idea to lea as much as possible by heart, especially the
dialogues. What is needed in leaing to speak a language is not a towering intellect, but the powers of mimicry and memory. If you apply yourself to this course as we suggest, we are sure that you will go a long way towards an initial mastery of one of the world's most widely-spoken languages.
This course is designed to enable those with no previous knowledge of Hindi to reach the point where they can communicate effectively in Hindi and can read, write and converse on a range of topics. It is also intended for speakers of other Indian languages who may or may not know some Hindi already, but who wish to be able to speak and write India's national language accurately and with increasing fluency. The course has also proved effective as teaching material for both class and individual tuition.
The Hindi presented in this course is primarily colloquial and practical, and here some explanation of the position of Hindi may be helpful. Hindi is the national language of India; but, as the language map (Fig. 1) shows, it is one of several languages used in different parts of the sub-continent. 'National', then, has to be understood as meaning the 'official' or 'link' language. Although the map shows the homeland of Hindi to be in the North, it is studied, taught, spoken and understood widely throughout the sub-continent, whether as mother tongue or as a second or a third language.
Hindi has a special relationship with Urdu: their grammar is virtually identical, and they have a substantial vocabulary in common. The two languages, however, quickly part company, because Urdu is written from right to left in a modified form of the Arabic script and has drawn the bulk of its vocabulary from Persian and Arabic, while Hindi is written in the Devanagari script and, in common with other Indian languages, has drawn much of its vocabulary from Sanskrit. Like all languages, Hindi has many different styles and speech registers, appropriate in different contexts. At the most colloquial level it reflects more the common ground with Urdu, while in formal and official contexts a more Sanskritized style is found. The language of this course is that which is used unselfconsciously by Hindi speakers and writers in the various, mainly informal, situations which arc introduced. The more formal Sanskritized Hindi is best leat after acquiring the basic communicative competence which is the primary aim of this course. We have chosen not to include here many of the English words which some Hindi speakers use freely in their conversations.
Hindi is a most enjoyable language, and is not difficult to lea. By the time you finish this course, you should be able to handle a wide range of the topics and subjects that occur in everyday situations. A good command of Hindi is an entry into a fascinating and richly diversified culture, and well worth the effort needed to acquire it.
How to use the course
The course is divided into 18 units. Each unit contains two Hindi dialogues with deliberately close and literal English translations, two sections of grammatical explanation with examples, exercises on the new material introduced by the unit (usually including a reading passage), and in Units 1-15, a vocabulary of new words. There are also six Appendices, containing material for reference.
There is a key to all the exercises, and a complete end vocabulary of all the words in the course.
You should begin by working carefully through the section on pronunciation and leaing the characters of the Devanagari script. Roman transliteration is given for all the Devanagari text up to Unit 5, by which time you should have mastered the script completely; as a guide to pronunciation we have also included Roman transliteration throughout the end vocabulary. (Transliteration has been dropped from the exercises after Unit
3. ) Although the book can be used entirely on its own, we do urge you if possible to use the cassette and/or to enlist the help of a native speaker when working on the pronunciation, since the sound system of Hindi is different from that of European languages and it is important to develop accurate pronunciation at the initial stage. We have tried to describe the sounds as clearly as possible, but you should be aware that this can only be an approximate guide.
There are two ways in which you can approach each unit. Either you can lea the dialogue and its meaning (ideally by hearing and repeating it) and then work through the grammar section to understand exactly how it comes to mean what it does; or you can work through the grammar section first and then tu back to the dialogue. It is very important not to move on before you have done two things: mastered the dialogue, and fully digested all the grammar section and its examples. New words arc introduced in the dialogues, in the examples to the grammar sections, and in the reading passages. Not all the points given in the grammar sections are illustrated in the dialogues, so you must lea both thoroughly. When you have completed the two dialogues and the grammar sections of a unit, then work on the exercises, checking with the key at the back. Finally, use the vocabulary given in the unit to test yourself on all the words in that unit. We strongly recommend that as you progress, you continually revise the previous units also.
In our grammatical explanations we have aimed to be as clear and untechnical as possible, so the lack of a linguistic background need not be a cause for conce. Although we do not claim to have covered every conceivable feature of Hindi, in practice you have very nearly the complete grammatical structure of the language. The vocabulary has had to be limited to about 2000 words, and we are very conscious of the many commonly used words and expressions for which space could not be found; your vocabulary will, however, increase quickly as you converse and read more. It is a good idea to lea as much as possible by heart, especially the
dialogues. What is needed in leaing to speak a language is not a towering intellect, but the powers of mimicry and memory. If you apply yourself to this course as we suggest, we are sure that you will go a long way towards an initial mastery of one of the world's most widely-spoken languages.