Social Discourse Aboard the Hindi Urdu Flagship

Students who learn Hindi and Urdu in parallel must encounter two complementary sets of culturally-marked social conventions. Dr. Snell’s talk discusses this diversity in the context of the close but often vexed relationship between Hindi and Urdu, and shows how even the simplest greetings conversations call for an informed sensitivity to matters of register, honorific level, and religio-cultural background. The talk includes an 8-minute introduction to Devanagari (the Hindi script), enabling all comers to read simple words with nimble ease.