... I discovered why I had dropped it in the first place. I really like the language, but absolutely hate the subject.
In school, I would have been one of those nerdy and quiet, 'straight-As' type of students, were it not for my consistent Cs and Ds in Hindi. Instead, I remained a nerdy and quiet type of student without ever achieving the redeeming quality of 'straight-As'.
My problems with the subject were never-ending and the largest of these was my spelling. I was losing close to 20 marks out of a 100 mark paper on spellings alone. But spellings in Hindi are easy. The word is spelled exactly as it is said. Unlike English or French. However... those damn vowels! Choti 'u' ki matra, choti 'e' ki matra... it all sounds like badi 'u' and badi 'e' ki matra to me!! (Quick translation: there are two ways of writing each vowel depending on whether there is a small emphasis on its sound in a word or a large emphasis on the sound but it never sounds like a small emphasis to me).
This also applies to consonants which are halved if there is only a slight sound of that alphabet. Some words like उत्तर (uttar or north) have one and a half of the same consonant! (Agreed. The example used is a very simple word.) Sometimes, there seems to be more than one way of writing a particular sound. The whole thing just came across as being very dodgy to me.
Second problem: Vocabulary. Unfortunately, as one taught in English-medium schools, growing up in South Bombay, with both parents speaking Hin-glish at home as they are used to using English thanks to their jobs, I didn't have much contact with the language. I'm not too interested in Hindi cinema either and at that time, didn't read Hindi books. As a result, I didn't pick up too much on the vocabulary or on muhavare (phrases?).
Third Issue: Handwriting. OK its not as though my handwriting in English is particularly famous for its neatness. But it is legible most of the time. Forget about another person reading it, even I can't decipher my handwriting in Hindi.
In ninth grade, when I came upon the rare chance to choose between Hindi, Sanskrit (the scholarly language of the ancients and mother of Hindi today) and French, I dropped all efforts at improving my knowledge of the mother-tongue and defected to a language of the Europeans and the UN.
Come full circle to today and if I clear the exams I gave in May, I find myself facing a Hindi challenge in December. As I discovered yesterday when I started relearning the subject, I don't even recall what seven or eight of the alphabets look like! And get quite confused between many of the others.This not something to be proud of. Am squaring myself to start with the basics: writing down the varnmala (alphabet) five times. I can still read it somewhat comfortably though and obviously speak it fluently, if in simple words.
Thus now, to the subject that was once the bane of my existence, I say:
Current Mood: Confident, optimistic
In school, I would have been one of those nerdy and quiet, 'straight-As' type of students, were it not for my consistent Cs and Ds in Hindi. Instead, I remained a nerdy and quiet type of student without ever achieving the redeeming quality of 'straight-As'.
My problems with the subject were never-ending and the largest of these was my spelling. I was losing close to 20 marks out of a 100 mark paper on spellings alone. But spellings in Hindi are easy. The word is spelled exactly as it is said. Unlike English or French. However... those damn vowels! Choti 'u' ki matra, choti 'e' ki matra... it all sounds like badi 'u' and badi 'e' ki matra to me!! (Quick translation: there are two ways of writing each vowel depending on whether there is a small emphasis on its sound in a word or a large emphasis on the sound but it never sounds like a small emphasis to me).
This also applies to consonants which are halved if there is only a slight sound of that alphabet. Some words like उत्तर (uttar or north) have one and a half of the same consonant! (Agreed. The example used is a very simple word.) Sometimes, there seems to be more than one way of writing a particular sound. The whole thing just came across as being very dodgy to me.
Second problem: Vocabulary. Unfortunately, as one taught in English-medium schools, growing up in South Bombay, with both parents speaking Hin-glish at home as they are used to using English thanks to their jobs, I didn't have much contact with the language. I'm not too interested in Hindi cinema either and at that time, didn't read Hindi books. As a result, I didn't pick up too much on the vocabulary or on muhavare (phrases?).
Third Issue: Handwriting. OK its not as though my handwriting in English is particularly famous for its neatness. But it is legible most of the time. Forget about another person reading it, even I can't decipher my handwriting in Hindi.
In ninth grade, when I came upon the rare chance to choose between Hindi, Sanskrit (the scholarly language of the ancients and mother of Hindi today) and French, I dropped all efforts at improving my knowledge of the mother-tongue and defected to a language of the Europeans and the UN.
Come full circle to today and if I clear the exams I gave in May, I find myself facing a Hindi challenge in December. As I discovered yesterday when I started relearning the subject, I don't even recall what seven or eight of the alphabets look like! And get quite confused between many of the others.This not something to be proud of. Am squaring myself to start with the basics: writing down the varnmala (alphabet) five times. I can still read it somewhat comfortably though and obviously speak it fluently, if in simple words.
Thus now, to the subject that was once the bane of my existence, I say:
Current Mood: Confident, optimistic
muhavare means idioms not phrases.
ReplyDeleteOh! That explains them then. Thanks! :p
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