Thinking in Hindi and talking in English.....

To start with I will like to inform everyone that ‘Hindi’ is the national language of India. I come from the ever developing city of Mumbai based in the heart of the country. Mumbai is a very multicultural city like London or New York. Several languages are spoken in the city and people from different religions live under the same roof. However Hindi is the most widely spoken and accepted language in the city. I have been living in London for the last 3 years and have cherished my journey in a new country. As most of us are aware there are several cultural differences between India and England. Not just the culture the languages spoken are completely different as well.

English is the national language of the British people. I have been speaking the English Language since I was in school and my entire academic studies were completed in English. So I have never experienced any difficulties whilst communicating in English. However do I still think in Hindi before I speak English? Illiteracy numbers are continuously decreasing across different cities in India. But there are still thousands of Indians who face issues with speaking languages other than their mother tongue. Whilst we talk to a Translation Agency we always come across incidents wherein Indian people request for Translation services like documenttranslation to overcome their communication barriers.

Personally I never faced communication issues whilst in England. However during conversations there are moments were I think in Hindi and then convert my thought process in English before replying. And I believe this is common among all Indians whose first language is not English. I have several Eastern European friends from Poland and Lithuania. They are not highly conversant in English and face difficulties whilst communicating in English. During conversations they take several seconds to think before replying. The reason being they think in their mother language before replying in English. These pauses during conversations can increase if the person is new to English or any other language he/she is not familiar with. Personally when I hear a new phrase in English I start to think about its meaning in Hindi. However during normal conversations I rarely think in Hindi and then reply in English. So the more unfamiliar you are with a particular language the more likely you are to struggle during conversations.