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. It is the main language in India. It is the fifth most spoken language in the world with about 182 million native speakers in 1998. The Devanāgarī script is used to write Hindi. Previously Hindi was known as Hindui.
Hindi is widely written, spoken and understood in North India and some other places in India. In 1997, a survey found that 45% of Indians can speak Hindi. It has taken words from the Dravidian languages of South India, as well as the Arabic, Persian, Chagatai, English and Portuguese languages.
Hindi and Urdu were considered the same language but have evolved into separate dialects. However, to this day, both languages are mutually intelligible, meaning their speakers can understand each other without knowing the other language. Urdu, however, is written in the completely different Arabic alphabet.
Hindi developed from Sanskrit, the ancient language of India. Hindi started to develop in the 7th century as "Apabhramsha" and became stable by the 10th century. Some famous Hindi poets are Tulsidas and Kabir.
Dialects of Hindi include: Avadhi, Braj, Bhojpuri, Bundeli, Bagheli, Chhattisgarhi, Dogri and Marwari.
Hindi is also spoken with regional accents like Haryanvi and Rajasthani. Bombay Hindi is spreading because Bollywood films use it.
Hindi Diwas is an annual celebration on 14th September. It commemorates the law of 1949 that made Hindi the legal language of the Republic.
Related pages
- List of territorial entities where Hindi is an official language
See also
In Spanish: Idioma hindi para niños
