Hindi
Hindi is the national language of India, the land that gave to the world great spiritual systems like Yoga and Vedanta. It is the modern language of the birthplace of Buddha. Knowledge of this language will present a glimpse of the culture of one of the earliest civilizations known to the world for its rich intellectual and spiritual heritage.
In modern times, as businesses become more globalized, and India takes big strides in technology and other trades, learning Hindi will make it easier to connect with people there. Hindi enjoys the status also of the second most popular language in many South East Asian countries like Nepal, Pakistan, Mauritius, Trinidad, Fiji, Surinam, and Guyana.
Knowing Hindi will also enable you to enter and fully enjoy the second largest entertainment industry in the world popularly known as Bollywood.
Being a descendent of Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-European language, Hindi has elements similar to those found in many other Indo-European languages like English. Thus, mastery of Hindi will make it easier to understand these other languages and dialects that have come from the same common source.
To learn more about Hindi at USC, contact the Linguistics Department at 213-740-2986.