In the spring 1999 semester, with the support and guidance of CLS - Center for Language Studies, and The Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale, an introductory course in Hindi was offered. Today five Hindi courses in three levels of Hindi are being offered.

At the Yale Hindi program, we believe language is a way of thinking, a way of life, and so our students are required from the very beginning to think in the language being learnt.

We believe true proficiency in any language can only be achieved through a deeper understanding of its parent and/or related culture(s), and to achieve this goal we instruct through combination of texts, written assignments, audio-visual material including contemporary Hindi films and songs, and computer based assignments. These courses are geared towards increasing oral, aural, written and reading proficiency in the language.

We believe that all disciplines are in the final analysis related to each other, and so are committed to providing a classroom experience where students are compelled to draw on the multitude of diverse knowledge they have acquired in the course of living.

We believe in the joy of learning and are committed to making the Hindi classroom a non-threatening, intense, intellectual and joyful experience.

About the Hindi language

Hindi is the national language of India; but, it is one of several languages spoken in different parts of the sub-continent. ‘National’ should be understood as meaning the ‘official’ or ‘link’ language. The homeland of Hindi is in the North of India, but it is studied, taught, spoken and understood widely throughout the sub-continent, whether as mother tongue or as a second or a third language.

For more information, see Introduction to the Hindi Language.