Any questions Regarding India

[Ticker]

I have not come across a S Indian who knew Hindi & did not reply / talk in hindi when spoke to in the same language.

The South too has four prominent languages -Tamil, Telugu, Kannada & Malayalam.

So nothing much .

Actually its quite like Urdu being the national language of Pak but not spoken or the preferred language outside Punjab.

I have come across many South Indians who would reply in English, even when asked in simple Urdu or Hindi. Many of my Indian friends have confirmed this fact to me.

Urdu is widely understood and used all over Pakistan. It is only in some very small far flung areas in Sindh where it is not yet understood.

Go anywhere else and you'd not be responded to in Urdu.

This is not the case of Hindi language use in India though.

Hindi is not national language,its majority speaking language.

Which language is India's national language.

 

[AyanRay]

Which language is India's national language.

There are 18 official languages of India(including Urdu). Hindi being the most widely understood, it is the national language of India. Our mutual respect for each others tradition has ensured that we have not faced a 'east pakistan' like situation in India....

 

[Ticker]

There are 18 official languages of India(including Urdu). Hindi being the most widely understood, it is the national language of India. Our mutual respect for each others tradition has ensured that we have not faced a 'east pakistan' like situation in India....

Can't help taking a snipe in response to a simple query, can you!

I agree, the South Indians would not speak Hindi normally - I don't know if it is out of mutual respect or impertinence.

There was another gentleman called teri unki aur meri shirt or something said that Hindi is not India's national language - I wonder why.

 

[illusion8]

Can't help taking a snipe in response to a simple query, can you!

I agree, the South Indians would not speak Hindi normally - I don't know if it is out of mutual respect or impertinence.

There was another gentleman called teri unki aur meri shirt or something said that Hindi is not India's national language - I wonder why.

The states were divided into linguistic regions with many states having their own languages and officially proclaimed as official languages there are a few more languages demanding official status. Hindi is predominantly spoken in the central belt and all other states follow their own languages. It's a good thing that the center did not enforce one language all over that would have resulted in chaos.

Hindi is a compulsory subject in all schools so almost everybody knows the language, but they have problems in speaking due to limited usage in their surrounding.

 

[Joe Shearer]

There are 18 official languages of India(including Urdu). Hindi being the most widely understood, it is the national language of India. Our mutual respect for each others tradition has ensured that we have not faced a 'east pakistan' like situation in India....

Can't help taking a snipe in response to a simple query, can you!

I agree, the South Indians would not speak Hindi normally - I don't know if it is out of mutual respect or impertinence.

There was another gentleman called teri unki aur meri shirt or something said that Hindi is not India's national language - I wonder why.

Swipes and snipes aside, AyanRay is wrong and your own particular friend, TeriShirtKaButton is right. Constitutionally, there is no national language.

Among the south Indians, only the Tamils tend to give you a cold look if you speak to them in Hindi. The other three are relaxed about it. Speaking Hindi is not an undiluted blessing. I suspect that we are on the verge of a mass petition by those who claim Hindi as their mother tongue, asking for court orders to prevent Bengalis from attempting Hindi. If you ever have the bad luck to get caught in that cross-fire, you will know afterwards, if you survive, that you have been in a fight. However, the issue is never in doubt, and the Bengali wins, while friends cart away Hindi on a gurney afterwards.

 

[INDIC]

I have come across many South Indians who would reply in English, even when asked in simple Urdu or Hindi. Many of my Indian friends have confirmed this fact to me.

Urdu is widely understood and used all over Pakistan. It is only in some very small far flung areas in Sindh where it is not yet understood.

Go anywhere else and you'd not be responded to in Urdu.

This is not the case of Hindi language use in India though.



Which language is India's national language.

There is no national language in India, just 22 official languages.

 

[Ticker]

The states were divided into linguistic regions with many states having their own languages and officially proclaimed as national languages there are a few more languages demanding national status. Hindi is predominantly spoken in the central belt and all other states follow their own languages. It's a good thing that the center did not enforce one language all over that would have resulted in chaos.

Hindi is a compulsory subject in all schools so almost everybody knows the language, but they have problems in speaking due to limited usage in their surrounding.

I have been told by many North Indians and South Indians themselves that the Southern belt people even if they know Hindi, would not like to reply in Hindi and would use English - because they deliberately don't want to.

Surprising that all of you guys are just beating around the bush.

Swipes and snipes aside, AyanRay is wrong and your own particular friend, TeriShirtKaButton is right. Constitutionally, there is no national language.

Among the south Indians, only the Tamils tend to give you a cold look if you speak to them in Hindi. The other three are relaxed about it. Speaking Hindi is not an undiluted blessing. I suspect that we are on the verge of a mass petition by those who claim Hindi as their mother tongue, asking for court orders to prevent Bengalis from attempting Hindi. If you ever have the bad luck to get caught in that cross-fire, you will know afterwards, if you survive, that you have been in a fight. However, the issue is never in doubt, and the Bengali wins, while friends cart away Hindi on a gurney afterwards.

I'd go with Bengali - it is a sweet language indeed.

 

[illusion8]

I have been told by many North Indians and South Indians themselves that the Southern belt people even if they know Hindi, would not like to reply in Hindi and would use English - because they deliberately don't want to.

Surprising that all of you guys are just beating around the bush.

they get ridiculed when they talk Hindi in a funny accent, hence the avoidance. There is no deliberate avoidance as you want to project it. Indians are known for their adaptability, a South Indian born and brought up in say Mumbai or Delhi will be more comfortable in speaking Hindi than an Indian born in say Coimbatore or Madurai.

 

[INDIC]

I have heard that most South Indians do not like to speak in Hindi which is a national language, even if they know it.

Why is this dichotomy.

Hindi is less familiar only in Tamil Nadu. Many people know kaam chalau Hindi, educated people prefer English as their Hindi is weak. People also learn some sentences to talk to localite who know neither Hindi or English.

 

[Grevion]

Can't help taking a snipe in response to a simple query, can you!

I agree, the South Indians would not speak Hindi normally - I don't know if it is out of mutual respect or impertinence.

There was another gentleman called teri unki aur meri shirt or something said that Hindi is not India's national language - I wonder why.

Hindi is not confirmed national language in india allthough hindi is official language with english in many northern and middle states of the country cause majority of people speak it. Regional language becomes the official language with english in many northeastern and southern states cause majority of people from these states speaks the regional language. However a bengoli,gujarati or rajasthani living in tamil naidu can speak english, hindi or tamil if he/she wants. There is no burden on what language one speaks in india however people prefer the one they are famaliar with.

 

[third eye]

I have come across many South Indians who would reply in English, even when asked in simple Urdu or Hindi. Many of my Indian friends have confirmed this fact to me.

Urdu is widely understood and used all over Pakistan. It is only in some very small far flung areas in Sindh where it is not yet understood.

Go anywhere else and you'd not be responded to in Urdu.

This is not the case of Hindi language use in India though.



Which language is India's national language.

I cannot deny the fact that there are issues on speaking in hindi. It is mostly due to two reasons - comfort with the local language and the regionalism which exists at grass roots level.

Maybe I have met ppl from S India who were conversant with hindi but even now when ever I travel to Chennai, Trivandrum, Kochi,Vizag or hubli etc I have alaways found ppl ready to converse in Hindi. Even if they were not conversant,they would admit it after a few tries and then break into english.

All in all what I am trying to say is that its not a big thing as it is sometimes made out to be.

The bottom line is that Kaam hona chaiye & Sab chalta hai.

 

[INDIC]

There are 18 official languages of India(including Urdu). Hindi being the most widely understood, it is the national language of India. Our mutual respect for each others tradition has ensured that we have not faced a 'east pakistan' like situation in India....

Its 22 now, four languages Bodo, Maithili, Dogri and Santhali had been added.

 

[DARIUS]

I cannot deny the fact that there are issues on speaking in hindi. It is mostly due to two reasons - comfort with the local language and the regionalism which exists at grass roots level.

Maybe I have met ppl from S India who were conversant with hindi but even now when ever I travel to Chennai, Trivandrum, Kochi,Vizag or hubli etc I have alaways found ppl ready to converse in Hindi. Even if they were not conversant,they would admit it after a few tries and then break into english.

All in all what I am trying to say is that its not a big thing as it is sometimes made out to be.

The bottom line is that Kaam hona chaiye & Sab chalta hai.

Whatever u have said is absolutely right!And what is even more significant is that no one cares or sensationalize the fact that most SI's refrain from using Hindi partly because they are not that comfortable with it and.Partly because they take pride in their regional dialects. . . .And everyone has accepted things the way they are.

 

[Dubious]

India has the largest muslim population in the subcontinent..more than pakistan or bangladesh....hence India have tried many time to represent them in OIC .....therefore it is right to say....India prefers to keep her dual identity...that of a secular nation and at the same time represent indian muslims in the Islamic world................so far this has failed due to Pak intervention andi inbility of the Islamic nation to accept Her duality

1st you start of by saying you have a larger population of Muslims then you conveniently throw the blame on Pakistan, whose population is less than you surely, there is some problem on your side to put forward this notion!

 

[Dubious]

Lot more variety here than in Pakistan, and biryani is good specially down south.

Depends who is tasting it...I only like SOME Indian dishes...from restaurants which I am not sure are pure Indian or cater to the locals taste...like the Indian restaurant in Wales tasted bland because it catered more for the local market than to show Indian food...

Each has its own better dishes...