Hindi is the most widely spoken language in India; for anyone travelling to India or for people interested in India’s culture and history, learning Hindi can prove to be very useful. There is a rich variety of learning material available today for people who want to learn Hindi on their own.
The Hindi language enjoys the status of being the national and one of the official languages of India. It takes its roots from the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit, and is written using a script known as the Devanagari script. It is the most widely spoken language in India; various versions of this language are spoken in countries as far and wide apart as Nepal, Fiji and Trinidad and Tobago. Though the people of India speak many different languages, most of them are familiar with Hindi and are decently proficient in the language. So it makes sense for anyone traveling to India to learn basic Hindi so that he/she is capable of holding simple conversations in the language.
Learning the Hindi language today has become a much simpler task due to the variety of resources available. Especially for the learner who speaks English as a first or a second language and would like to learn Hindi as an additional language, there are options aplenty. The famous and extremely effective set of Hindi learning books in the Learn Hindi Series by the author Kirit N Shah are meant for those who speak English as a first language and would like to learn the Hindi language. These books are a user-friendly and comprehensive Hindi learning package for the English speaking learner. Similarly, Let’s Learn Hindi, a Hindi learning course, is available in the form of a book and a CD, and its companion website letslearnhindi.com also aims to help an English speaker to master the nuances of the Hindi language. Also available is Teach Yourself Hindi by Mohini Rao.
For people looking for a comprehensive Hindi learning solution online, onlinhindiguru.com is a good choice. It has free basic lessons on vowels, consonants, grammar, conversational Hindi and so on. The medium of instruction here as well is English; it also has links to other Hindi learning resources and useful downloads such as Hindi typing tools and dictionaries. The site also offers a paid Hindi learning course that can be ordered in the form of a CD.
ukindia.com is also an online Hindi learning site. It has a comprehensive set of basic Hindi lessons. The full set of lessons in the form of a cassette and a book can be ordered by sending a payment to the address mentioned in the site. As it is clear to see, the choices for the learner who is proficient in English to learn the Hindi language are varied and many. The Internet by itself is a comprehensive resource offering various Hindi learning lessons and courses to suit every kind of learner, all with English as the medium of instruction. To supplement their online education, learners can go for various books, CDs and other learning materials available to achieve a firm understanding of the Hindi language.