Languages

=Languages of India:=

Hindi - Official national language English - Other official national language

Hindi and English are understood by many of the peoples of India. However, there are 18 regional languages that are used in the different states of India.

Those 18 are used at the regional government levels. Generally, the state lines were setup to surround regional languages. However some do not follow the lines. Urdu is spoken mostly by Muslims, who live everywhere.

Tamil is 3000 years old and the Sanskrit language is over 5000 years old!

These languages come from what the Indian Constitution calls "mother tongues". A recent census counted 200 mother tongues in India.

Some people count the number of regional dialects to be as high as 1652. To compare US-English is thought to have between 3 to 25 dialects.

= = =Learn some phrases using Google Translate!=

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Hello/Goodbye: namaste Excuse me: maaf kijiyeh Please: meharbani she Thank you: shukriya Yes: haan No: nahin How are you?: aap kiaseh hain? Very well, thank you: bahut acha, shukriya What's your name?: aap ka shubh naam kya hai? My name is.: meraa naam.hai Do you speak English? Kya aap angrezi aatee hai? I don't understand: meri samajh mei nahin aaya What time is it? Kitneh bajeh hain? Where is the.? . kahan hai? Bus stop: bas staap Hotel: hotal Station: steshan How far is .?:. kitni duur hai? How do I get to .?:. main wahan kaiseh jaun? When will the next bus leave?: agli bas kab jaaegi? Which bus goes to.? .kaun sii bas jaati hai? Please show me the menu: mujheh minu dikhaiyeh I only eat vegetarian food: main shakahaari huun The bill please: bill de dijiyeh How much?: kitneh paiseh? This is expensive: yah bahut mehnga hai Chemist: davai kii dukaan Market: bazaar Shop: dukaan Fruit: phal Vegetables: sabzi Sugar: chini Rice: chaaval Water: paani Tea: chai Coffee: kaafi Milk: dudh 1: ek 2: do 3: teen 4: char 5: panch 6: chhe 7: saat 8: aath 9: nau 10: das
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http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/india-country-profile.html