Hindi-Urdu Language Courses
- Hindi-Urdu Language
Hindi-Urdu Language
HINDI URDU 111 – Hindi-Urdu I
Overview of the class
This course is a year long, three quarter sequence, and is meant for students with no Hindi-Urdu background. At the beginning of the three quarter sequence, the students are not expected to be able to speak, understand, read or write any Hindi-Urdu. In the first quarter (Hindi-Urdu 111-1) the students are introduced to the Hindi (Devanagari) script and to aspects of Hindi-Urdu grammar. By the end of this quarter the students are be able to talk about their family, their routines, their likes and dislikes, and also describe actions in progress. In the second quarter (Hindi-Urdu 111-2), the students continue to learn new grammatical constructions. By the end of the second quarter the students are able to talk about events in the past and the future. In the third quarter (Hindi-Urdu 111-3) students learn to express possibilities, wants, abilities and capabilities. They also learn finer aspects of grammar. The third quarter culminates in a cooking project, which requires the students to use the cumulative language skills that they would have honed over the period of the academic year. By the end of this quarter students achieve intermediate-low language skills in Hindi-Urdu.
Registration Requirements
None for Hindi-Urdu 111-1, Hindi-Urdu 111-1 with a C- or better for Hindi-Urdu 111-2, Hindi-Urdu 111-2 with a C- or better for Hindi-Urdu 111-3, and by placement test or with instructor consent.
Teaching Method
Textbook, word-games, YouTube videos, internet and in-class materials
Evaluation Method
Assessment is based on weekly quizzes, attendance, classroom participation and presentations, home assignments, mid-terms and an oral interviews. No final exam.
Class Materials (Required)
Richard Delacy and Sudha Joshi Elementary Hindi ISBN-13: 978-0804845038
Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary* ISBN-13: 978-0198643395
Oxford English-Hindi Dictionary ISBN-13: 978-0195648195
Class Materials (Recommended)
Introduction to Hindi Grammar by Usha R. Jain ISBN-13: 978-0944613252
HINDI URDU 116-0 – Accelerated Hindi-Urdu Literacy
Overview of class
This course is designed for students who speak Hindi and/or Urdu, but who cannot read and write in both scripts. Students will learn how to read and write in Devanagari (Hindi) and Nastaliq (Urdu) scripts. We will also review Hindi-Urdu grammar, focusing on areas that present difficulty for heritage speakers. At the end of the quarter, students will be evaluated for placement into higher-level Hindi-Urdu courses such as HIND_URD 121-2, 211-2, etc.
Registration Requirements
With instructor/departmental consent.
Teaching Method
Seminar
Evaluation Method
Assessment is based primarily on in-class quizzes, attendance, classroom participation, and home assignments. No final exam.
Class Materials (Required)
Richard Delacy, Read and Write Urdu Script: 978-1444103939
Rupert Snell, Read and Write Hindi Script: 978-1444103915
All other essential materials will be available through Canvas
Class Materials (Suggested – these may change)
S.K. Verma, Oxford English-Hindi Dictionary: 978-0195648195
Shanul Haq Haqqee, Oxford English-Urdu Dictionary: 978-0195793406
R.S. McGregor, Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary: 978-0198643395
S.M. Salimuddin and Suhail Anjum, Oxford Urdu-English Dictionary: 978-0195979947
HINDI URDU 121 – Hindi-Urdu II
Overview of class
This is a year long, three quarter language sequence. Students start the year by working on reinforcing all the language skills attained the year before, and adding the Nastaliq (Urdu) script to their skill set. They continue developing speaking skills and listening comprehension, as well as expanding the Hindi-Urdu grammar and vocabulary. We do so by reading poems, short stories, watching and discussing movie clips, short films and videos, and making in-class Microsoft PowerPoint presentations. Some of the topics that we touch upon during the year are short Hindi-Urdu stories, stories from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the tales of Akbar and Birbal, etc. By the end of the three quarter sequence students attain intermediate-mid or higher language proficiency in Hindi-Urdu.
Note: Please purchase all the required textbooks in the fall quarter, as this is the only quarter that they are ordered during the year.
Registration Requirements
C- or better in Hindi-Urdu 111-3 for Hindi-Urdu 121-1, Hindi-Urdu 121-1 for Hindi-Urdu 121-2, Hindi-Urdu 121-2 for Hindi-Urdu 121-3, and by placement test or with instructor consent.
Teaching Method
Textbook, extra materials, movies.
Evaluation Method
The students are graded on the basis of home assignments, weekly quizzes, midterm, attendance, oral interviews and class participation. No final.
Class Materials (Required)
Advanced Hindi Grammar (2007) by U. Jain. Publisher: Institute of East Asian Studies; ISBN-10: 094461342X ISBN-13: 978-0944613429
Oxford Urdu-English Dictionary* ISBN-13: 978-0195979947
Oxford English Urdu Dictionary ISBN-13: 978-0195793406
Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary* ISBN-13: 978-0198643395
Oxford English-Hindi Dictionary ISBN-13: 978-0195648195
Class Materials (Recommended)
Intermediate Hindi Reader (1999) by U. Jain with K. Schomer. Publisher: Institute of East Asian Studies; ISBN-10: 087725351X ISBN-13: 978-0877253518
Intermediate Hindi (1996) by Y. Kachru and R. Pandharipande Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN-10: 8120805585 ISBN-13: 978-8120805583
HINDI URDU 210 – Health and Well-being
Course description coming soon!HINDI URDU 316 – Translation and Literature
Course Overview
CITIES AND MODERNITY IN SOUTH ASIA
When Gandhi said that “India does not live in its towns but in its villages,” he was agreeing with the conventional wisdom of his contemporaries, both Indian and British. In this course, we will disregard this view and focus instead on South Asia’s mesmerizing, contentious cities.
The class’s organization is thematic as well as chronological; but over the course of the quarter, we will move from the early nineteenth century to the twenty-first century. We will spend time with a variety of texts, including fiction, poetry, memoirs, blog posts, and films. Secondary works by scholars of literature and history will help us get below the surface and to consider a variety of ways to think about cities, art, and society. Approaching these texts as documents of ways of thinking and living, while remaining alert to their aesthetic qualities, will help us think about what makes modernity modern, what makes cities urban, and what makes a colony colonial.
At the same time as we consider the form and content of the texts, we will also address questions of translation. Translation is famously difficult, or maybe impossible, but at the same time it is not only necessary but can also offer us new ways to read. By critically approaching texts in the original and in translation, and by reading reflections on the practice of translation, we will seek to understand the dilemmas and insights that emerge from reading and writing translations.
Two overlapping courses are offered: ASIAN_LC 260 (meeting MW) is open to anyone and will be taught entirely in English, while HIND_URD 316 (meeting MF) is open to students with suitable proficiency in Hindi or Urdu. Readings for HIND_URD 316 will be available in both Hindi and Urdu scripts.
- understand and interpret literary works in Hindi and Urdu;
- read Hindi-Urdu texts both intensively and extensively;
- translate Hindi-Urdu texts into English.
- evaluate the relationship between texts and their cultural and historical contexts;
- critically evaluate translations of South Asian literature;
- critically evaluate scholarly work relating to South Asian history and culture;
- make cogent and persuasive arguments, orally and in writing, incorporating careful analysis of primary and secondary materials;
- work with classmates to produce knowledge collaboratively.
papers and presentations
HINDI URDU 320 – Hindi-Urdu Poetry
Course overviewIn this course, we will read and discuss a wide range of Urdu and Hindi poetry, and attempt to understand the meanings not only of the texts themselves but of the social and cultural worlds that they represent. We will encounter the work of classical poets like Mir, Sauda, Ghalib, and Mir Anis; early twentieth-century poets like Iqbal and Akbar Allahabadi; progressive and modernist poets like Faiz, Miraji, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Agyeya, Kunwar Narain, Noon Meem Rashid, and Muktibodh; and postmodern, feminist, and contemporary poets like Fahmida Riaz, Kishwar Naheed, Shubham Shree, Azra Abbas, Raghuvir Sahay, Vinod Kumar Shukla, and Afzal Ahmad Syed. Readings will be in Hindi and Urdu (and available in both scripts), supplemented by scholarly work written in English. Discussions will primarily take place in Hindi-Urdu. The course is open to students with suitable proficiency, regardless of previous coursework. Prerequisites: two 300-level courses in Hindi-Urdu or instructor permission. In addition to advanced Hindi-Urdu speaking proficiency, proficiency in reading either Hindi or Urdu script is required.
Registration Requirements
HIND_URD 320: 2 quarters of 300 level coursework in Hindi-Urdu or instructor permission
Teaching Method
Seminar
Evaluation Method
Papers and Presentations
Class Materials (required)
Provided
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