Um. We generally say 'happy birthday' in English, irrespective of whichever language one speaks. In Hindi one might say (and please note my Hindi can be shaky, esp. with the gender) 'janamdin mubarak ho' (janamdin = birthday; mubarak = congratulations - this is incidentally an Urdu word) or 'janamdin ki shubh kamnaein' (shubh = good, auspicious; kamna(ein) = wish(es)). In Bengali (which is my mother-tongue) we might say 'janmadiner shubhechha janai' (janmadin = birthday; shubhechha = good/auspicious wishes; janai = i let you know), but that's really formal sounding and I wouldn't say it unless it was written on a birthday card. 'Happy Birthday' is much more convenient.
Which makes me wonder about the origin of the birthday greeting. Maybe this greeting-thing actually came with the British, although marking one's birth anniversary in some way or the other cannot be just a colonial phenomenon. Hmm.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2008-01-14 04:14 pm (UTC)Um. We generally say 'happy birthday' in English, irrespective of whichever language one speaks. In Hindi one might say (and please note my Hindi can be shaky, esp. with the gender) 'janamdin mubarak ho' (janamdin = birthday; mubarak = congratulations - this is incidentally an Urdu word) or 'janamdin ki shubh kamnaein' (shubh = good, auspicious; kamna(ein) = wish(es)). In Bengali (which is my mother-tongue) we might say 'janmadiner shubhechha janai' (janmadin = birthday; shubhechha = good/auspicious wishes; janai = i let you know), but that's really formal sounding and I wouldn't say it unless it was written on a birthday card. 'Happy Birthday' is much more convenient.
Which makes me wonder about the origin of the birthday greeting. Maybe this greeting-thing actually came with the British, although marking one's birth anniversary in some way or the other cannot be just a colonial phenomenon. Hmm.