This course book goes over every aspect of the Hindi language to help beginners learn the basics of pronunciation, writing, grammar, and vocabulary. The book can be used in a classroom setting or in self study sessions.
If you want to learn one of the most spoken languages in the world, then Hindi might be the way to go. You’re sure to come across native Hindi speakers in your personal and professional life, so why not learn at least some simple Hindi? To do so, you can look to Learn Hindi through English.
The author recommends that before you begin the lessons, you spend at least one week learning Devanagri and the sounds you will hear and use in Hindi. If you are a native speaker of a western language, then you may have trouble properly pronouncing certain sounds in Hindi, which is why it is especially important to learn how to discern sounds that are not a part of your native language. The introductory section of the book provides ample charts and references to help you fully understand the sounds of each letter and letter combination in Hindi. Practice, practice, practice and you should be ready to go on to the “real” lessons.
Unlike other beginner Hindi books, the lessons are presented in pure Devanagri, so it’s important that you have a basic knowledge of the writing system before you begin. The lessons are largely broken up into grammatical topics, though there are a few chapters which are not necessarily grammar such as “numbers” and “basic sentences”. However, most of the chapters focus on parts of grammar such as “Future Tense”, “Pronouns”, “Comparison of Adjectives” and so on.
While the chapters are organized by grammatical topics, you will learn much more than grammar. Each section has an extensive vocabulary list. As a student, you can spend ample time just learning new words. You will also strengthen your reading skills as you have no choice but to read Devanagri.
"Unlike other beginner Hindi books, the lessons are presented in pure Devanagri, so it’s important that you have a basic knowledge of the writing system before you begin."
The author has divided the book into 49 lessons and one final lesson titled, “Parting Advice”. His intent was that students spend seven days learning Devanagri by studying one lesson each day. While this is definitely possible, you will probably retain a lot more information if you spend more than a day on each lesson. If you review the lessons and spend time practicing what you learned for a few days, then chances are you’ll have a better, more lasting grasp of Hindi by the end of it. It’s likely that you could spend around 3-5 days on each lesson and not get bored. If you have a Hindi tutor who can add to each lesson, then that’s even better! If you are studying on your own, however, days 2-5 will probably be spent memorizing the words and phrases as well as solidifying your understanding of each grammatical concept.
Considering this book is only 80 rupees – about 1.20 USD – it’s a great value for your money. For less than a cup of coffee, you can learn all of the major rules of Hindi grammar, build your vocabulary, and learn to read and write Hindi. If that’s not a deal, then I don’t know what is!
