Hindi: In which parts of India is it spoken?

[vince]

Split from here.

hi,
My mother tongue is Telugu (a South Indian Language)
So, can read, write and speak telugu very fluently.
Hindi is my national language and i can read, write and speak.
Kannada- yeah, im fine with this language,though i can only read and speak
Tamil- i can understand well and can express whatever i need
Sanskrit- I learnt it in college; i write and read sanskrit, but don't speak.
English- im quite fluent
French- i've been learning it for 18 months now and im comfortable(but my vocab levels need a boosting).
Spanish- Learning(...I mean just started ).
I've fallen in love with Bengali and i can make out things
(must gather myself up and start working towards learning it )

I've voted 5 (telugu, hindi, english,kannada,french)

Hmm looks like I was under the mistaken impression that Hindi was only spoken in northern India.

Does everyone speak Hindi in India? Or at least in all urban areas?

Also, how similar are Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada? More similar than French and Spanish, or less?

 

[panjabigator]

No...according to ethnologue.com, only about 30% of the population speaks Hindi....and they are mainly in the North. In the South, some states require you to learn it but many don't really use it. Only Tamil Nadu in South India and Bengal in East India do not require you to learn Hindi. The South, in my opinion, prefers the regional languages and English.

The Kannada script and the Telugu script look very similar to me...

Actually, in some Urban areas in the South, Hindi would be OK....like Bangalore and Hyderabad (especially). They should be relatively comfortable with it. And in North India, every big city should be OK.

 

[vince]

No...according to ethnologue.com, only about 30% of the population speaks Hindi....and they are mainly in the North.

yeah but i was confused by his statement that:

My mother tongue is Telugu (a South Indian Language)
So, can read, write and speak telugu very fluently.
Hindi is my national language and i can read, write and speak.

I kind of read it as: He speaks a South Indian (Dravidian) language but since Hindi is the national language, he knows it

 

[linguist786]

Yes that's what he meant. Hindi is the national language of India, so he probably felt as though it'd be useful to know it. Maybe?

 

[Fedora]

HI! This is probably a really stupid question but what language are most Bollywood movies in? Please excuse me if this is off topic but I just assumed that they were in Hindi and now I'm becoming a little confused. Pardon my ignorance

 

[Pivra]

HI! This is probably a really stupid question but what language are most Bollywood movies in? Please excuse me if this is off topic but I just assumed that they were in Hindi and now I'm becoming a little confused. Pardon my ignorance

Urdu and Hindi I think.

 

[macta123]

No...according to ethnologue.com, only about 30% of the population speaks Hindi....and they are mainly in the North. In the South, some states require you to learn it but many don't really use it. Only Tamil Nadu in South India and Bengal in East India do not require you to learn Hindi. The South, in my opinion, prefers the regional languages and English.

The Kannada script and the Telugu script look very similar to me...

Actually, in some Urban areas in the South, Hindi would be OK....like Bangalore and Hyderabad (especially). They should be relatively comfortable with it. And in North India, every big city should be OK.

Punjabigator has researched well on the topic. Yes, Hindi is more common in North India. And in major cities like Mumbai,Hyderabad and Bangalore towards south OR south west. Many Nepalis are also conversant with Hindi. Hindi is less spoken in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. In J and K then speak Kashmiri and other dialects and in Punjab (Punjabi). Though both of them can undestand Hindi which is closely knit. Haryana;U.P;Delhi;M.P; H.P; Bihar;Jharkhand;Utaranchal are the states were Hindi (or it dialects) are the main language. Take around 30% of Indian population.

In all states basic knowledge of Hindi is compulsory. In Tamil Nadu - the fact is that the people hate Hindi ( a kind of attachment to their mother tongue Tamil). In Bengal many of them can understand Hindi and Hindi is taught in schools too (but not so compulsory). There are Hindi Prachar sabhas all around India and world and they offer courses for those desiring to learn the language.

Nikhil

 

[shaloo]

Hello there!!
First of all, I feel the need to clarify that Im not "He" but "She".

And, secondly, as a person currently residing in Hyderabad, I can assuredly tell you all that Hindi has equal importance in Hyderabad as the native language Telugu has.

And moreover, in Andhra Pradesh, one has to compulsorily learn Hindi in school, I mean Atleast till the 10th standard as it is our national language.

But here again, you have an option of choosing it as either your first or second language.Of course, there are some exceptions like the parents serving governmental organizations and who must frequently relocate. But under those circumstances too, Hindi is given the first preference and the second language can be english rather than telugu or kannada(yes, i can tell this).And as I said these are only exceptions.

I'm not pretty sure about Tamil Nadu but I know that Hindi is not compulsory in all schools.

And yeah, Hindi is most spoken in Hyderabad and Bangalore(I personally know it) as are the regional languages- Telugu and Kannada.

Edit: I hope this clarifies atleast some of the doubts vince and others had.

 

[shaloo]

I hope this thread would of a little help, perhaps.
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=160269

My post (number 7, last 3 paragraphs) also clears Vince's doubt about the similarity between Telugu and Kannada.

More questions are welcome.