Hindi

[McCloudersportLion]

One of the languages I'd like to familiarize my boy with at a young age is Hindi. It's too late for me but at a young enough age learning a language is just so much easier. It's easy enough to find fun tools for stuff like Spanish and Dutch but Hindi is a different ball game altogether. With all the unique sounds with that language that you dont have with Euro languages it seems that much more prudent to start early.

Any advice would be appreciated ...

 

[psuro]

1. It’s not an easy language to learn when you are not around it or similar languages. With English there is some basis with other European languages (Greek and Germanic languages) Makes it easier to learn.

2. Do you have a South Asian community/cultural center where you live? See if they offer classes. In my area the local cultural center does - because of the second and third generations of South Asians who are distanced from their ancestral languages and customs and this center provides a place for them tolearn. My eye doctor has chosen this route with his kid.

3. In addition to speaking make sure to learn the reading and writing.

4. Like any language unless it’s practiced regularly the child won’t Be proficient. So you will have to figure out how you can help him When he is not in class.

5. It’s not too late for you either.

Good luck - getting him started early is certainly the best way to do it

I am curious as to why you want him to learn this particular language though

 

[Obliviax]

One of the languages I'd like to familiarize my boy with at a young age is Hindi. It's too late for me but at a young enough age learning a language is just so much easier. It's easy enough to find fun tools for stuff like Spanish and Dutch but Hindi is a different ball game altogether. With all the unique sounds with that language that you dont have with Euro languages it seems that much more prudent to start early.

Any advice would be appreciated ...

no advice but think you are smart. the world is shrinking, fast, and knowing a second (major) language is a great idea. My neighbor's son took international finance with a minor in Mandarin. He landed an internship with a major accounting/consulting firm and now works putting together mergers/acquisitions worldwide at the age of 26.

 

[Cletus11]

Why Hindi? Spanish, certainly. Chinese sure, but that is obviously really hard. Arabic would be interesting as beyond Chinese, Spanish and English is probably spoken as much as any.

But why Hindi? Most people in India can speak English being a former british colony and 100% of anybody educated that you would ever meet in a business environment in India does.

 

[CF LION]

1. It’s not an easy language to learn when you are not around it or similar languages. With English there is some basis with other European languages (Greek and Germanic languages) Makes it easier to learn.

2. Do you have a South Asian community/cultural center where you live? See if they offer classes. In my area the local cultural center does - because of the second and third generations of South Asians who are distanced from their ancestral languages and customs and this center provides a place for them tolearn. My eye doctor has chosen this route with his kid.

3. In addition to speaking make sure to learn the reading and writing.

4. Like any language unless it’s practiced regularly the child won’t Be proficient. So you will have to figure out how you can help him When he is not in class.

5. It’s not too late for you either.

Good luck - getting him started early is certainly the best way to do it

I am curious as to why you want him to learn this particular language though

Speaking is one thing, reading another but writing in any sanskrit language is an art. My gf speaks Gujarati but can barely read nor write it any longer.

 

[diontechristmas]

You’re a new dad right? I was like you once. Now 10 years later I’m satisfied the kids can mostly speak one language.

 

[psuro]

You’re a new dad right? I was like you once. Now 10 years later I’m satisfied the kids can mostly speak one language.

Is it Hindi? Cuz that would be kewl.

 

[91Joe95]

One of the languages I'd like to familiarize my boy with at a young age is Hindi. It's too late for me but at a young enough age learning a language is just so much easier. It's easy enough to find fun tools for stuff like Spanish and Dutch but Hindi is a different ball game altogether. With all the unique sounds with that language that you dont have with Euro languages it seems that much more prudent to start early.

Any advice would be appreciated ...

According to some of my teenage cousins, Google apparently has some very good aps to learn foreign languages. Not sure if hindi is one though. Google "google learn language" I think they have mentioned duolingo or something like that, but there are a host of options.

 

[McCloudersportLion]

Why Hindi? Spanish, certainly. Chinese sure, but that is obviously really hard. Arabic would be interesting as beyond Chinese, Spanish and English is probably spoken as much as any.

But why Hindi? Most people in India can speak English being a former british colony and 100% of anybody educated that you would ever meet in a business environment in India does.

Ganesha can move heavy things for you and I feel like even though he speaks some English, his productivity goes up when you make him feel at home on 2nd shift.

In all seriousness...
India will be the most populous country and the 3rd biggest economy in 10-20 years. Also is spoken widely across South Asia in places like Bangladesh, Nepal, etc.

I certainly want my boy speaking Spanish but that's kind of easy- he already has a toy that translates "La Bamba" for him.

 

[NittanyIllinois]

Ganesha can move heavy things for you and I feel like even though he speaks some English, his productivity goes up when you make him feel at home on 2nd shift.

In all seriousness...
India will be the most populous country and the 3rd biggest economy in 10-20 years. Also is spoken widely across South Asia in places like Bangladesh, Nepal, etc.

I certainly want my boy speaking Spanish but that's kind of easy- he already has a toy that translates "La Bamba" for him.

Just curious......are you or members of your immediate family of South Asian heritage?

If not, Hindi seems like an odd choice. I'm certainly not criticizing it -- I commend the idea. But it's a tough language, and unless you have that South Asian community in your backyard, sustaining whatever your child learns won't be easy.

While India has 1.3 billion people, only a small percentage (~25%) of that speaks Hindi as their native language. In Pakistan, it's really Urdu dominated, with a lot of Punjabi, Sindhi, and Pashto. In Bangladesh, it's primarily Bengali. And so on.

Plus, English is widely understood and used in India. If you're looking for a competitive advantage for business/commercial purposes, Chinese is a better bet. Even Arabic will probably open up doors that Hindi won't.

If you're going to invest that much effort in a difficult language (as opposed to Spanish), I'd go all the way and go with Chinese.