It makes sense that the tradition of birthdays came from the surrounding cultures, especially considering that most Jews celebrate them according to the Gregorian calender and not the Jewish calender.
Same here. In fact, I don't think I remember what my birthday is according to whichever of the many Indian calendars we follow. *hangs head in shame*
(And ha, 'mabruk' os a common slang word here for congratulations, coming from Arabic.)
Urdu - Hindi's twin sister who was separated at birth and brought up by mostly Muslim parents - also derives from Arabic. Not a slang, though, because you actually say 'Eid mubarak' on Eid.
And hey, it's cool, languages in India are endless and confusing. I do speak Hindi, actually. It *is* the 'official' language, which means it is used for all 'official' things by the central government alongside English. There's Hindi-language television and the cinema industry (Bollywood). Then there's the fact that most urban areas are multilingual, which means you can't avoid Hindi. I've always spoken Hindi (I wish I could read faster, though. or write it properly without forgetting what the words look like), and it's improved after living in a predominantly Hindi-speaking area for the past one and a half years. I still do lose words, and I think I'll never get the gender right, but at least I don't have the dreaded Accent! *g*
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branchandroot
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Date: 2008-01-15 05:08 am (UTC)Same here. In fact, I don't think I remember what my birthday is according to whichever of the many Indian calendars we follow. *hangs head in shame*
(And ha, 'mabruk' os a common slang word here for congratulations, coming from Arabic.)
Urdu - Hindi's twin sister who was separated at birth and brought up by mostly Muslim parents - also derives from Arabic. Not a slang, though, because you actually say 'Eid mubarak' on Eid.
And hey, it's cool, languages in India are endless and confusing. I do speak Hindi, actually. It *is* the 'official' language, which means it is used for all 'official' things by the central government alongside English. There's Hindi-language television and the cinema industry (Bollywood). Then there's the fact that most urban areas are multilingual, which means you can't avoid Hindi. I've always spoken Hindi (I wish I could read faster, though. or write it properly without forgetting what the words look like), and it's improved after living in a predominantly Hindi-speaking area for the past one and a half years. I still do lose words, and I think I'll never get the gender right, but at least I don't have the dreaded Accent! *g*