INDIAN LANGUAGES - HELP :)

With Indian languages numbering well over a dozen, it's hard for an american to decide where to start. Does anyone have any background or suggestions on what Indian language to learn that would be most practical for travel purposes?

american indian or indian indian?

Haha, Indian-Indian.

What part of Indian are you traveling to?

Probably a number of stops, may as well make the most of it... I mean traveling that far. This isn't for immediate travel plans. In about 2 years time would be the quickest. Even then, probably a little longer. This is preparation for an event I'm planning.

No where specific in India have I chosen yet. Thinking I will let the type of Indian I learn dictate my travel. Plus I imagine there are some forms of Indian that lend extremely well to other types, making them no sweat to learn. So I'm trying to find which is the best place to start with.

Event Checklist

Step 1 - Language - Spanish, French, German, some type of Indian. Become fluent - conversationally only. Grammar is of little importance and will play a minimal role for how I intend to use them. Estimated time to complete this step : 2 years from tomorrow.

Step 2 - Yoga. Lots. Then some more. Duration : Ongoing.

Step 3 - Begin journey : 27 days.

Throughout these steps will be lots of planning, research, and procurement of funding. Blah blah blah.

the only Indian I know is
Hay ya hay ya nina chuck e go wanagosia
I was told by an american indian it means get the fuck out of my teepee

ZJV,

I'll check with a girl I work with that is from India. I'm on vacation until Monday but will find out for you then if you don't get it sooner. Regardless it will be good to see what answers you get and if it's a consensus.

Posted by zjv
Probably a number of stops, may as well make the most of it... I mean traveling that far. This isn't for immediate travel plans. In about 2 years time would be the quickest. Even then, probably a little longer. This is preparation for an event I'm planning.

No where specific in India have I chosen yet. Thinking I will let the type of Indian I learn dictate my travel. Plus I imagine there are some forms of Indian that lend extremely well to other types, making them no sweat to learn. So I'm trying to find which is the best place to start with.

Event Checklist

Step 1 - Language - Spanish, French, German, some type of Indian. Become fluent - conversationally only. Grammar is of little importance and will play a minimal role for how I intend to use them. Estimated time to complete this step : 2 years from tomorrow.

Step 2 - Yoga. Lots. Then some more. Duration : Ongoing.

Step 3 - Begin journey : 27 days.

Throughout these steps will be lots of planning, research, and procurement of funding. Blah blah blah.

Procurement of funding......funny

I have a friend in Asheville, NC that owns a studio and spent a couple of years in India studying with Monks. He had some interesting stories.

What do you mean 27 days, till what?

🙂 Wow, thanks a lot. This is exactly the kind of feedback I'm looking for. I've been just asking around. Looking for a general consensus. So, I def. appreciate the help.

27 days sounds like a good number of days for a journey.

Z

Sure, I realize how commonly English is spoken. I just think it's a shame I can only speak my native tongue. I just like the way it sounds and think it would be a fun addition to my skill set and add some flare to travels. Dig me?

Wow, I'd love to live in a foreign country like that. I want to travel so badly but it's just not something I can do because of job and kids. There just isn't the time. But, the kids on both in high school so after they have flow the coupe I guess it will be more of a possibility. Do it while you're young Z and before other things start weighing you down.

It's funny, I tried Indian food for the first time about 5 years ago but had a bad experience, just wasn't the best tasting food. I've worked with S for 4 years and just these past few months started noticing her food. She cooks Indian almost every night, she's also a vegetarian. So, I tasted some of her spinach and cheese cube (not sure what they are called) dish and OMG! I'm hooked! I've learned how to cook a decent channa masala and eat it several times a month. You gotten watch out for those freakin' chick peas though. HIGH in calories but hmmmmmm good. I've made my own hummus for a very long time.

I'll let you know what I find out.

Posted by Dynamite Parfait
At the OP: there are TONS of indigenous languages in India. Much of the population will speak English, except for the more remote locations.

Here is a http://www.india-travel-agents.com/india-guide/languages.html>list of the common ones.

As an English speaker, I think you might find them quite difficult at first, but if you learn the important travel phrases you should be fine.

Cheers. 🙂

Thanks, I actually had that page book marked. What I'll probably do is research more where I want to go. As in a specific region and go from there.

I'm def not worried about a communication barrier. English will do just fine for sure. I'd like to learn some type of Indian for the sake of learning though. Personally, I learn best when I have tangible motivators. So I figured what better motivation than immersion?

Also thanks to the other posts too 🙂

There is a new indian language just discovered yesterday.

there are 65oo in the world its news because no one outside of the small village and farmers around it speaks it.

Its always best to learn the national language "hindi' for moving around in a large and diverse country like India. Its intersting to note that hindi music and films are widely popular all over Asia, the Gulf region, parts of Africa and Australia.