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Cover of Hindi

Hindi

Written by Yamuna Kachru

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334 pages, about 7 hours of reading

Language Arts & Disciplines

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About this book

This book presents the structure of Hindi keeping in view the sociolinguistic context of language use. It includes descriptions of sounds, devices of word formation, rules of phrase and sentence construction and conventions of language use in spoken and written texts incorporating the insights gained by application of recent linguistic theories. The account presented here, however, is free from abstruse technical vocabulary and modes of presentation that aim at justifying a particular linguistic model. This volume is primarily designed as a source of reference for linguists and educators who want to be better informed about the forms and functions of Hindi, and a resource for students and teachers of Hindi. Hindi, the official language of the Republic of India, is the second most widely spoken language with approximately three hundred and fifty million speakers. In its diasporic contexts, it is spoken in Africa, Australia, Europe, Fiji, Guyana, Surinam, Trinidad, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States. An Indo-European language by genetic affiliation, Hindi shares many characteristics with Austro-Asiatic, Dravidian, and Sino-Tibetan languages of the subcontinent. In addition, Hindi has assimilated features of Arabic, Persian and English in a variety of its functionally determined styles.

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Reading guide

Themes, characters and key ideas in Hindi, written by Chaptra AI.

  • about 40 hours
  • advanced
  • informative
  • academic
  • analytical

Yamuna Kachru's "Hindi" is a seminal academic text offering a comprehensive linguistic analysis of the Hindi language. It systematically delves into the phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics of Hindi, providing a structured framework for understanding its grammatical intricacies and communicative functions. The book is a foundational resource for students and scholars of Hindi linguistics, serving as both a pedagogical tool and a reference work for advanced research. It examines Hindi's structure within a broader linguistic context, often drawing comparisons and utilizing modern linguistic theories to explain its unique features and variations. This work solidifies Kachru's reputation as a leading authority in the field of South Asian linguistics.

“"The present volume aims to provide a comprehensive and theoretically informed description of the structure of Hindi, focusing on its phonology, morphology, and syntax."”

Key themes

Syntactic Structure of Hindi
This theme explores the intricate rules governing sentence formation in Hindi, including word order, phrase structure, clause types, and the mechanisms of argument realization (e.g., ergativity). Kachru meticulously details how different grammatical elements combine to form meaningful utterances, often comparing Hindi's syntax to universal grammatical principles.
Morphology and Word Formation
This theme delves into the internal structure of Hindi words, examining how morphemes (the smallest meaningful units) combine to form nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. It covers inflectional morphology (e.g., gender, number, case marking on nouns; tense, aspect, mood on verbs) and derivational morphology (creating new words from existing ones).
Sociolinguistics and Language Variation
While primarily a structural grammar, Kachru often integrates discussions on how Hindi is used in real-world contexts, acknowledging its inherent variation. This theme explores the influence of social factors, regional dialects, and language contact (especially with English) on the structure and usage of Hindi, and the ongoing processes of standardization.

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