Hindi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hindi |
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| हिन्दी | ||
The word "Hindi" in Devanagari script
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| Pronunciation | /maːn̪ək ɦin̪d̪iː/ | |
| Native to | India Significant communities in Nepal |
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| Native speakers | (180 million cited 1991) Total, including Urdu: 490 million |
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| Language family |
Indo-European
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| Writing system | Devanagari Hindi Braille |
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| Official status | ||
| Official language in |  India Trinidad and Tobago |
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| Regulated by | Central Hindi Directorate (India) | |
| Linguist List | hin-hin | |
| Linguasphere | 59-AAF-qf | |
| Template:Infobox language/Indo-Aryan
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Hindi is an Indo-Aryan language. This means it belongs to a large family of languages spoken across parts of Asia and Europe. Hindi is the main language spoken in India. It is one of the most spoken languages in the world. In 1998, about 182 million people spoke Hindi as their first language.
Hindi is written using the Devanāgarī script. A script is a system of writing, like the alphabet we use for English. Long ago, Hindi was known as Hindui.
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Where Hindi is Spoken
Hindi is widely used in North India and many other parts of India. A survey in 1997 showed that almost half of all Indians (45%) could speak Hindi.
Hindi has borrowed words from many other languages. These include Dravidian languages from South India, as well as Arabic, Persian, Chagatai, English, and Portuguese languages.
Hindi and Urdu
Hindi and Urdu were once thought of as the same language. Over time, they developed into separate dialects. However, people who speak Hindi and people who speak Urdu can usually understand each other. This is called being mutually intelligible.
Even though they are similar when spoken, Urdu is written using a completely different system. It uses the Arabic alphabet.
History of Hindi
Hindi grew out of Sanskrit, which is an ancient language of India. Hindi started to develop around the 7th century. At that time, it was known as "Apabhramsha." By the 10th century, the language became more stable and recognizable.
Some famous poets who wrote in Hindi include Tulsidas and Kabir. Their works are still important today.
Different Kinds of Hindi
There are many different ways Hindi is spoken across India. These are called dialects. Some of the dialects of Hindi include:
- Avadhi
- Braj
- Bhojpuri
- Bundeli
- Bagheli
- Chhattisgarhi
- Dogri
- Marwari
Hindi is also spoken with different regional accents. For example, there are accents like Haryanvi and Rajasthani. Bombay Hindi is becoming very popular. This is because many Bollywood films use this style of Hindi.
Hindi Diwas
Hindi Diwas is a special day celebrated every year on September 14th. This day remembers a law from 1949. This law made Hindi the official language of the Republic of India.
Related pages
- List of territorial entities where Hindi is an official language
See also
In Spanish: Idioma hindi para niños
