All about Hindi Language

• Hindi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in India.
• Modern Standard Hindi is one of the two official languages of the Government of India.
• It is an official language in 9 states and 3 union territories.
• Hindi is the lingua franca of the Hindi belt.
• It is derived from Khariboli dialect of Delhi.
• Hindi has its roots in Sanskrit.
• Hindi incorporates vocabulary from Persian, Arabic, Turkic, and English.
• As a linguistic variety, Hindi is identified as the base register of the Hindustani language.

History

• The predecessor to Hindi is the early form of Hindustani known as Khariboli.
• Khariboli arose in the Delhi region during the Delhi Sultanate period (1206-1526 AD).
• It was influenced by interaction between Indo-Aryan languages and Persian, Arabic, and Turkic languages.
• During the British Raj, efforts were made to standardize Hindustani, leading to two primary registers: Hindi and Urdu.
• Hindi adopted the Devanagari script and leaned towards Sanskrit for vocabulary.
• Urdu adopted a modified Persian script and drew vocabulary from Persian and Arabic.
• Mahatma Gandhi advocated for Hindustani as a unifying national language.
• After independence in 1947, Hindi was adopted as one of the official languages of India.

Geographical Distribution

• Hindi is spoken across the Hindi Belt in northern and central India.
• Hindi is used in states such as Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal.
• Hindi Belt includes Delhi and Chandigarh.
• Due to migration, Hindi speakers are present in major cities throughout India.
• Hindi is also spoken by a significant diaspora population worldwide.

Official Status

• Hindi is one of the two official languages of the Union Government of India, along with English.
• Article 343 of the Indian Constitution declares Hindi as the official language of the Union.
• Hindi is the official language of several states and union territories in India.
• The Central Hindi Directorate promotes Hindi.

Dialects

• Hindi exhibits considerable dialectal variation.
• Dialects are often grouped into Western Hindi and Eastern Hindi.
• Western Hindi dialects include Khariboli, Braj Bhasha, Haryanvi, Bundeli, and Kannauji.
• Eastern Hindi dialects include Awadhi, Bagheli, and Chhattisgarhi.
• Khariboli is considered the standard dialect of Hindi.
• The intelligibility between different dialects can vary.

Phonology

• Hindi has a relatively large phoneme inventory.
• It includes aspirated and unaspirated consonants.
• Hindi features retroflex consonants.
• Vowel length is distinctive.
• Hindi has nasalized vowels.
• The phonology of Hindi is influenced by Sanskrit and Persian.

Grammar

• Hindi is an Indo-Aryan language.
• It generally follows Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order.
• Hindi is a relatively synthetic language.
• It employs postpositions instead of prepositions.
• Nouns are inflected for gender, number, and case.
• Verbs are inflected for tense, aspect, mood, gender, and number.
• Hindi has a system of grammatical gender.
• Agreement is important in Hindi grammar.

Vocabulary

• The vocabulary of Hindi is influenced by Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, Turkic, and English.
• Modern Standard Hindi is characterized by greater use of Sanskrit-derived words.
• Urdu, a register of Hindustani, utilizes more Persian and Arabic loanwords.

Writing System

• Hindi is typically written in the Devanagari script.
• Devanagari is an abugida.
• Each consonant has an inherent vowel.
• Vowels can be written as independent letters or as diacritics.
• Devanagari is written from left to right.

Influence

• Hindi is a major language of communication, education, and entertainment in India.
• Bollywood, the Hindi-language film industry, has a significant cultural impact.
• Hindi literature has a rich tradition.
• Hindi is used in television, radio, and print media.
• The influence of Hindi is growing globally due to the Indian diaspora.

Hindustani

• Hindustani is a lingua franca of northern India.
• It encompasses both Hindi and Urdu.
• Hindustani is characterized by a shared core vocabulary and grammar.
• The differences between Hindi and Urdu are mainly in script and higher-level vocabulary.
• In colloquial settings, Hindi and Urdu are mutually intelligible.