With
around half a billion native speakers, Hindi is one of the most widely spoken
languages in the world. Even though it is quite common in North India, a large
section of the population can speak it well but find it difficult to write in
it. This stands true for kids as well, most children today speak in Hindi with
their friends and at home but when it comes to writing in the language, it
becomes surprisingly hard to pen down words and expressions. It is a pain-area
for parents also, because they find it challenging to teach the language to
their kids and search for Hindi tutors. A survey
conducted by iChamp also showed that Hindi is a big challenge for students in metros.
Hindi’s stature as a language that
connects a majority of people in India has also taken a toll. Globalization has
opened up a lot of opportunities and English has come to be the most important
language of the century. Hindi-speaking masses are looked down upon owing to a
rather unpopular opinion that it signifies a sense of backwardness while
English gives a sense of superiority and high-class. But that shouldn’t stop us
from learning a language that has historical and cultural roots in our country
and helps us connect with most of them.
The following are a few reasons why
children today are weaker in Hindi -
Script is different from most
Western languages
The
Hindi script appears similar to the Arabic style of writing and is often
considered difficult because the characters are quite unique, and kids require
some time and practice to master their strokes and lines unlike the English
alphabet.
Grammar is tough
Many
kids complain about Hindi grammar as it is confusing for them because they are
learning English also. In English, they learn the format SVO
(Subject+Verb+Object) while in Hindi it is SOV (Subject+Object+Verb) and the
gender usage in Hindi requires extra efforts as well. One of the biggest reasons
is that parents themselves have forgotten Hindi grammar and are not capable of
teaching kids. This leads to kids not being very comfortable with Hindi from a
very early age itself.
Reading is now limited to English
Reading
in Hindi has also gone down substantially. In a typical middle class family in
urban india, from newspaper to magazines, hoardings on roads, signage on top of
shops – everything is in English. Kids are not exposed to hindi at all in their
day to day life.
Emphasis on English
Hindi
may be India’s most widely spoken language, but the language of the government
and business is resolutely English. Parents often emphasize more on English as
they think their kids would do better in life if they become fluent in the
global language early. Another reason is that Hindi speaking people are often
looked at as inferior and English has come to denote class and elitism which is
why most urban parents want their kids to speak in English even at home and
when communicating with them.
Hindi
is not “cool” anymore, as far as the younger generation is concerned, Hinglish
is considered a more viable option.
But we should understand that in today’s time,
being multilingual is more beneficial. Research has shown that learning
multiple languages challenges the brain and improves cognitive and
social-emotional development. This is why there is a need to emphasize and
focus on other languages including Hindi for your kids.
Reasons
alone cannot constitute solutions so here are some tips to help improve Hindi
for your kids -
- Hindi
grammar may not be easy to grasp at once. But you can make it fun for your
child by giving Hindi worksheets for practice after school.
- Multilingual
children may get confused with gender usage or other conflicting grammar
concepts if they don’t use the Hindi language on a regular basis. Explain
the differences by answering your child’s queries with patience.
- Encourage
Hindi conversations and get good Hindi comics for reading and also read
them bedtime stories from Hindi story books.
