I think one of the best things that has happened for me as a result of having studied Chinese is a much better understanding of Hindi. Chinese and Hindi have more differences than similarities but the similarities they do share are quite fascinating.
Both languages have this really interesting concept of a "modal particle". A modal particle is a term that linguists use, which approximately means a small word which doesn't mean anything on its own in a sentence, but which has an influence on the overall meaning of the sentence. The examples below should clarify what I'm talking about:
"यह बहुत ज़्यादा है, मुझसे और नहीं खाया जाएगा, तुम खालो ना."
"Yah bahut zyādā hai, mujhse aur nahiⁿ khāyā jāyegā, tum khālo nā."
"This is too much, I can't eat any more of it, won't you eat it (please)."
"तुम खेलने क्यों नहीं आये?" "अरे भाई, मैं कल के टेस्ट के लिए पढ़ाई कर रहा था ना!"
"Tum khelne kyoⁿ nahiⁿ āye?" "Are bhāi, maiⁿ kal ke test ke liye padhāi kar rahā thā nā!"
"Why didn't you come to play yesterday?" "I was studying for tomorrow's test!"
"तुमने ठंडे दिमाग़ से सोच लिया है ना?"
"Tumne thaⁿdey dimaagh se soch liyā hai nā?"
"You've thought it out carefully, right?"
"हैं! तुम पागल हो गए हो क्या?"
"Hāiⁿ! Tum pāgal ho gay ho kyā?"
"What! Have you gone crazy?"
"आज तो मेरे पास टाईम नहीं है, मैं कल आता हूँ हाँ."
"Āj to mere pās time nahīⁿ hai, maiⁿ kal ātā hūⁿ hāⁿ."
"I don't really have time today, why don't I come tomorrow instead."
"हे भगवान्, तूने यह क्या कर डाला रे..."
"He Bhagvān, tūne yah kyā kar dālā re..."
"Oh my God, what have you done..."
Both languages have this really interesting concept of a "modal particle". A modal particle is a term that linguists use, which approximately means a small word which doesn't mean anything on its own in a sentence, but which has an influence on the overall meaning of the sentence. The examples below should clarify what I'm talking about:
"यह बहुत ज़्यादा है, मुझसे और नहीं खाया जाएगा, तुम खालो ना."
"Yah bahut zyādā hai, mujhse aur nahiⁿ khāyā jāyegā, tum khālo nā."
"This is too much, I can't eat any more of it, won't you eat it (please)."
"तुम खेलने क्यों नहीं आये?" "अरे भाई, मैं कल के टेस्ट के लिए पढ़ाई कर रहा था ना!"
"Tum khelne kyoⁿ nahiⁿ āye?" "Are bhāi, maiⁿ kal ke test ke liye padhāi kar rahā thā nā!"
"Why didn't you come to play yesterday?" "I was studying for tomorrow's test!"
"तुमने ठंडे दिमाग़ से सोच लिया है ना?"
"Tumne thaⁿdey dimaagh se soch liyā hai nā?"
"You've thought it out carefully, right?"
"हैं! तुम पागल हो गए हो क्या?"
"Hāiⁿ! Tum pāgal ho gay ho kyā?"
"What! Have you gone crazy?"
"आज तो मेरे पास टाईम नहीं है, मैं कल आता हूँ हाँ."
"Āj to mere pās time nahīⁿ hai, maiⁿ kal ātā hūⁿ hāⁿ."
"I don't really have time today, why don't I come tomorrow instead."
"हे भगवान्, तूने यह क्या कर डाला रे..."
"He Bhagvān, tūne yah kyā kar dālā re..."
"Oh my God, what have you done..."
"क्या है भाई?"
"Kyā hai bhāi?"
"What is it (with you)?"
In these examples, the words in bold are the "modal particles" (at least, in my opinion, they ought to be considered modal particles in Hindi). These words work to add emotion to the language. These kinds of words are not used much in English, which is why I feel that when I get angry, I can convey my opinion to the other person much better in Hindi. These words solely exist to add emotion to a sentence, which is proven by the fact that removing any of them from the above Hindi sentences will not change the essential meaning of the sentence.
Both Chinese and Japanese are also full of words like these. In Chinese, they are called "语气词" (yǔqìcí) which translates to "language tone words". In Japanese, they are called "叙法の助詞" (johō no joshi) or "modal helping words". To find out more about these, you can read Wikipedia's articles on linguistics, although Wikipedia also only has limited information about them.
This article (the Hindi version) was edited using Rungta's Hindi Transliteration tool.
"Kyā hai bhāi?"
"What is it (with you)?"
In these examples, the words in bold are the "modal particles" (at least, in my opinion, they ought to be considered modal particles in Hindi). These words work to add emotion to the language. These kinds of words are not used much in English, which is why I feel that when I get angry, I can convey my opinion to the other person much better in Hindi. These words solely exist to add emotion to a sentence, which is proven by the fact that removing any of them from the above Hindi sentences will not change the essential meaning of the sentence.
Both Chinese and Japanese are also full of words like these. In Chinese, they are called "语气词" (yǔqìcí) which translates to "language tone words". In Japanese, they are called "叙法の助詞" (johō no joshi) or "modal helping words". To find out more about these, you can read Wikipedia's articles on linguistics, although Wikipedia also only has limited information about them.
This article (the Hindi version) was edited using Rungta's Hindi Transliteration tool.
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