Hindi Language: Its Popularity and Spread


 Hindi Language: Its Popularity and Spread Around the Globe



 

 Hindi is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, with about 600 million speakers. Hindi is actually spoken by more than 425 million people as a first language, and a significant number of 120 million speak Hindi as their second language? Hindi language stands tall as the fourth most-spoken language in the world after English, Spanish and Mandarin.

Hindi is widely spoken in India but it isn't just limited to our country. There are many other destinations around the world, 20 to be precise, where Hindi has gained an official language status and several locals prefer conversing in it.

 

Countries Where Hindi is Understood Among the General Masses

Here are some of the countries where Hindi is widely spoken, apart from India.

 

Nepal

Nepal has a large Hindi-speaking population. About 80,000 Nepalese speak Hindi natively, and around eight million people understand the language. The official language is Nepali. Hindi is widely understood and spoken, especially in urban areas and among people who consume Indian media. Urdu is also spoken by some in the Muslim communities, in the Terai region.

 

Mauritius

Most nationals speak Hindi, as they are descendants of Indians brought to the country by British rulers. As per the records, Mauritius has around a third of the population speaking Hindi. It constitutes of 450,000 people. The total population is around 13 lakhs.

Although French and English are the country's official parliamentary languages, but Hindi remains an important part of their cultural heritage.

 

Fiji

Hindi is an official language in Fiji, and is spoken by most Fijian citizens of Indian descent.

Fiji has a large population of Indian origin, the reason why around 38% of the population speaks Hindi. It constitutes of around 400,000 people. Many Fijians of Indian ancestry speak Hindi, alongside Fijian and English.

 

Suriname

Hindi is the third most spoken language in Suriname. It's a fusion of Bihari and Eastern Hindi languages, primarily Bhojpuri and Awadhi. It's mainly spoken by the Indo-Surinamese community, who make up about 27% of the population. Out of the population of 600, 000 around 150,000 speak Hindi.

 

Maldives

The official language is Dhivehi. While Hindi is understood by some, especially among those who consume Indian media. With a substantial emigrant community from South Asia, Hindi and Urdu are commonly understood and spoken, especially among the Indian and Pakistani populations. These languages facilitate communication within the community and in various business sectors.

 

Singapore

Hindi is one of the most spoken languages in Singapore, as there are many Indians living there. Hindi is widely understood, making it convenient for Hindi-speaking tourists to communicate, especially in hospitality services. As per the world data info, 1.2 percent of the population speaks Hindi.

 

South Africa           

South Africa has a population of 59,622,350. There are more than 436,000 Hindi speakers. According to the Constitution of South Africa, the Pan South African Language Board must promote and ensure respect for Hindi along with other languages.

 

Sri Lanka

The official languages are Sinhala and Tamil. The primary languages of most Sri Lankans are Sinhala (69%) and Tamil (25.2%) However, there is a significant Tamil-speaking population that may understand Hindi due to the influence of Indian cinema and television. Most people can understand a few sentences of Hindi.  

 

Bhutan

English is widely used in education and government. There is limited exposure to Hindi. But people particularly in border areas and among those who watch Indian media understand Hindi. The official language is Dzongkha.

 

Pakistan

Both Hindi and Urdu originally developed from Khari Boli, a dialect of Delhi region, and the spoken languages are extremely similar to one another. They have the exact same grammatical structure, and at the beginner level they share over 70 - 80% of their vocabulary. Thus all Urdu speaking people can understand and speak Hindi.

 

Bangladesh

Bangladesh: Hindi is widely understood, especially in urban areas and among those who watch Bollywood films. Urdu is spoken primarily within the Urdu-speaking community known as Biharis. Most locals speak and understand Hindi.

 

Afghanistan

The official languages are Dari and Pashto. Due to historical ties and media influence. Urdu is understood by many, especially in urban areas and among some ethnic groups. Officially Hindi is less common but is understood by many being identical to Urdu. People are familiar with the spoken form of Hindi.


Other Countries

Interestingly United States of America has the third largest Hindi speaking population of 863,000 after India and Nepal. Uganda, a country of 50 million people has over 100,000 Hindi speaking people. 45,800 in the United Kingdom; 20,000 in New Zealand; 20,000 in Germany; 16,000 in Trinidad and Tobago out of 15 lakhs population speak Hindi.

 
Advertisement

Interesting Facts About Hindi

Hindi is not the national language of any country in the world but Hindi is the official language of India and Fiji.  It is also the minority language (third official court language) recognized by the UAE government. In South Africa it has the status of protected language.

Hindi is also spoken in the Gulf region and along with Arabic, and is playing the role of a link language for Arabic-speaking people and Indians speaking various regional (Indian) languages.

 

Almost every possible sound in the world can be written down in Hindi with the use of the alphabet. On the other hand, English needs supplementary symbols. The Hindi language is completely Phonetic; it is pronounced exactly how it is written.

Every day about 25 Hindi magazines and newspapers are published in countries outside India.

Hindi is taught as a language in 176 universities across the world.



Comments

Post a Comment


Click to know more

Popular posts from this blog

NatyaShastra & Bhava-Rasa Theory of Bharata

Image
                                                  Nav Ras / The Nine Melows or Moods INTRODUCTION NatyaShastra and the Bhava-Rasa Theory of Bharata Muni emphasizes that the success of a performance is measured by whether or not the audience has a specific experience called RASA. Rasa is the internal enjoyment which is relished by the audience which are nine in number. HISTORY OF NATYASHASTRA  The Natyaśāstra, is the oldest surviving Indian compendium on the knowledge of performing arts. It primarily deals with theatre, dance & musical performance. The text, which now contains 6000 slokas, is believed to have been written during the period between 200 BCE and 200 CE by Sage Bharata. The NatyaShastra itself is based upon the much older Gandharva Veda (appendix to Sama Veda) which contained 36000slokas. However, its most complete exposition in drama, songs and other performance arts is found in the works of the Kashmiri Shaivite philosopher Abhinavagupta (c. 1000 CE). OVERVIEW OF
Read more

SWASTIK Symbol Originated in the Harappan Period?

Image
SWASTIK symbol was found in Indus Valley.  It seems later it was adopted world over. The symbol of the true Swastika goes back over 11,000 years and is believed to have originated in the Harappan period and the culture of the Indus Valley Civilization. “We have found the most mature and geometrically ordered Swastika in the pre-Harappan times in the form of seals. We have also been able to trace the mention of the Swastika in the Vedas around the same time. These are scintillating findings that will help us announce that the Indian civilization is far more ancient than what is written in accepted history books, mostly by Europeans,” said Joy Sen, a faculty member at IIT-Kgp faculty and lead project. Indus Seal Subjects Spirituality     Bhagvad Gita    Bhagwad Puran    Buddhism   Krishna   Guru First & Earliest    Influence of Culture    Knowledge     History   Past Glories     Unique India   Chanakya    Video
Read more

The Earliest Known Chess Board & Dice

Image
      The Earliest Known Chess Board & Dice This ancient chess board was excavated from Lothal (Gujarat, India). It is the earliest known Chess board in the whole world. It dates back to c.2400 BC.   What follows is an excerpt from the published excavation report by the archaeologist SR Rao . . . "The close resemblance between various types of terracotta chessmen excavated from Lothal and modern Chessmen is remarkable.   It seems that the Indian game of Chaturanga (Chess) had its origin in one of the Harappan Games. Much valuable information about the various indoor games indulged in by the Harappans is available from the gamesmen, game-boards and dices found at the major Indus cities.   A game involving the use of dice was very popular in the Harappan and later times, especially in the time of the Mahabharata war. The Pandava prince is said to have lost everything including his kingdom in a game of dice. An earlier reference to
Read more

Kallanai Dam : The Fourth Oldest Irrigation Dams in the World.

Image
Kallanai Dam  is also known as the “Grand Anicut”. It is one of the oldest irrigation dams in the world built around 2000 years ago. It is build  cross the Kaveri River in Trichy District in the state of Tamil Nadu in South India. It is the fourth-oldest water-diversion or water-regulator structures in the world and the oldest in India which is still in use.  The dam was originally built by King Karikalan of the Chola Dynasty in c. 100 BC – c. 100 AD.  The main purpose of the Kallanai dam was to divert the waters of the Kaveri across the fertile delta region for irrigation via canals. The dam splits the river Kaveri into  4 streams known as Kollidam Aru, Kaveri, Vennaru and Puthu Aru . The dam was constructed in an elegant way to see the dam from any point. The dam is about 329 m (1,079 ft) long, 20 m (66 ft) wide and 5.4 m (18ft) high. The unique structure of the Kallanai dam involves large stones sunk in the Cauvery river to divert the water flow to the fertile delta. The main func
Read more

Definition of Bhagvan or God.

Image
Who can be called Bhagvan? Maharishi  Parashara   was the author of many ancient Indian texts. He is accredited as the author of the first Purana, the Vishnu Purana, before his son Vyasa wrote it in its present form. He was the grandson of Vasishtha, the son of Śakti Maharṣi, and the father of Vyasa. ऐश्वर्यस्य समग्रस्य वीर्यस्य यशसः श्रियः। ज्ञान - वैराग्ययोश्चैव षण्णां भग इतीरणा॥ aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ  jñāna-vairāgyayoś caiva ṣaṇṇāṁ bhagam itīṅganā (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.47) The term ‘Bhagavan’ or God, is thus defined by Parasara Muni as one who is full in six opulences— 1.    who has unlimited strength 2.    fame 3.    wealth 4.    knowledge 5.    beauty and 6.    renunciation . Prashar Lake with blue and clear waters is held sacred to the sage Prashar and he is regarded to have meditated there.     *** At a distance of 65 km from Kullu, 51 km from Mandi and 103 km from Manali, Prashar Lake is
Read more

Krishna & Balram : The Earliest Representation

Image
These coins seem to be the first known representations of Vedic deities on coins, and they display early Avatars of Vishnu: Balarama-Sankarshana with attributes consisting of the Gada mace and the plow, and Vasudeva-Krishna with the Vishnu attributes of the Shankha and the Sudarshana Chakra wheel. Agathocles Dikaios (meaning: "The Just") was a Greco-Bactrian/ Indo-Greek king, who reigned between around 190 and 180 BC. He might have been a son of Demetrius and one of his sub-kings in charge of the Paropamisade between Bactria and Indus-Ganges plains. He seems to be a Buddhist. Very little is known about him, apart from his extensive coinage. Agathocles issued an intriguing range of bilingual coinage, displaying what seem to be Buddhist as well as Hindu symbolism. Manufactured according to the Indian standard, using either Brahmi (ancient Indian script), Greek or Kharoshthi (ancient script used in Gandhar kingdom : present day Afghanistan & Pakistan), and displaying symbo
Read more

Ancient Indian Life Style

Image
A collection showing the life-style of ancient Indians - the hair style, clothing and fashion, generally based on sculptures.     The picture below shows the hair-style of men & women in India during Sunga Period (100-200 BC).     Discovery of these earrings provided first tangible evidence that jewelry  depicted by sculptors was in fact based on real models, for a very similar pair is shown on a first century B.C relief of chakravartin from Jaggayapeta Presently @metmuseum       2nd-1st century BC, Shunga period female beauty of Eastern India in  terracotta. Presently at Ethnological Museum, Berlin. * Headwear? * Richly ornamented  * Showing ear ring? * Long skirt is also carved * Seems she is wearing a Gown?   Ear Ornaments (Prakarvapra Kundla),1st cent BC India. Made of 18kg Gold in 3 forms,sheet, wire & granules & lion & elephant motifs. Old ornaments were not reused but melted down to avoid transmiss
Read more

Ancient Indian Hair-Styles

Image
  Ancient Indian hair-styles as seen through sculptures  & archaeology are presented here.   Ancient Indian Hair-Styles   Bhu Varaha Swami Temple, Chidambaram, tamil Nadu. Initially build by Medival Cholas An Unknown Sculpture.   A 12th  Century Sculpture, MP.     Bodhi Tree : Depicting different hair-do.     Yakshi under a flowering Asoka Tree. Shunga Period, 2nd-1st Century BC.     From Mohenjodaro. Indus Valley Civilization.     A 12th Century Sculpture.     Ajanta Fresco Showing Hair-do & Jewelry.     Yakshi Statue in the Bihar Museum.     Dancing Girl Mohinjodaro A Gandhar Sculpture.     A Kushan Sculpture.     Barhut Stupa - Maurya Period 3rd BCE   Bharhut  Sunga Period Sculpture Showing 'An Individual'. ___ XXX ___ For More:  Ancient-Indian-Life-Style. Subjects Spirituality     Bhagvad Gita    Bhagwad Puran    Buddhism   Krishna   Guru First & Earliest    Influence of Culture    Knowledge     History   Past Glories     Unique India   Chanakya    Video
Read more

Chintz – An Indian Fabric Banned Because Of Popularity

Image
Chintz was an Indian fabric that was banned in Europe because of its popularity and threat to local industries. Chintz — although it might today be largely associated with twee or cutesy armchairs and wallpaper — is, in its true form, a fabric that was not only once highly prized the world over, and helped revolutionize fashion and design, but also changed the course of history. The history of chintz extends far beyond that. Chintz — which comes from the Hindi word chint, meaning “‘spotted’, ‘variegated’, ‘speckled’, or ‘sprayed’ , as Fee writes in the book Cloth That Changed the World — originated in modern-day India and Pakistan thousands of years ago. Contrary to what many think, chintz does not necessarily have anything to do with glazed fabric, or even floral prints. Simply put, chintz is cotton to which substances called ‘mordants’ and ‘resists’ — used to help dyes adhere to it — have been applied. Before it appeared in fashion, chintz was big in interio
Read more

Khazars Worhipped Siva Lingam Before Becoming Jews

Image
The Khazars worhipping Siva Lingam before they became Jews     Khazars, in the late 6th century CE established a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia. Their influence in Eastern Europe extended well into the countries we now know as Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.  Their empire was known as the Khazar Khanate or Khazaria.. Khazars were descendants of the Turkic tribe, known as the Huns or Hun that invaded and savaged Europe from Asia around AD 450.  Religious Beliefs The Khazars were once worhippers of the Siva Lingam, before they became Jews. (We can notice worship of Siva Lingam wrapped by snake, being worshipped with water etc) Direct sources for the Khazar religion cannot be ascertained, but it is believed that they engaged in a form of religious practices known as Tengrism. But many practices seem similar to the Vedic traditions. •          Horse sacrifices
Read more

Are Hindus Worshipers of Many Gods?