Code-mixing between English and Hindi is a widespread phenomenon in India, reflecting the country's multilingual society. During British rule, English was the language of administration and education, largely inaccessible to the masses. This created a social divide between those who spoke English and those who didn't. However, with India's independence, English gained a new role – a tool for social mobility and economic opportunity. This accessibility shift, coupled with the continued dominance of Hindi, has led to a unique situation where people seamlessly blend English words and phrases into their everyday Hindi speech. This code-mixing is not a sign of broken language, but rather a creative adaptation that reflects the multilingual reality of modern India.
In Hindi, the imperfective participle with "रहना" is used to express ongoing actions or states. It's often used to indicate something that is continuously happening or a state of being that persists over time.
To form the imperfective participle with "रहना":
Start with the root verb of the infinitives (e.g., पढ़ना/पढ़, - to read, खाना /खा- to eat).
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Add the imperfective participle suffix (e.g., -ता, -ती, -ते for masculine, feminine, and plural forms respectively).
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Combine it with "रहना" to indicate that the action is ongoing or habitual.
Example:
पढ़ते रहना - to keep reading
खाते रहना - to keep eating
Here are some examples of using imperfective participle with रहना in sentences:
1. पढ़ना (to read) → पढ़ते रहना (to keep reading)
Example: वह किताब पढ़ते रहना पसंद करता है। (He likes to keep reading the book.)
2. खाना (to eat) → खाते रहना (to keep eating)
Example: बच्चों को अच्छा खाना खाते रहना चाहिए। (Children should keep eating good food.)
3. चलना (to walk) → चलते रहना (to keep walking)
Example: मुझे हमेशा चलते रहना चाहिए। (I should always keep walking.)
In each case, "रहना" adds the sense of continuation or persistence to the action described by the verb.
Example (video 0.44)
चिल करो! सारा दिन पीछे पड़ी रहती हो। Use imperfective participle with पीछे पड़ना + "रहना"
The subjunctive mood in Hindi is used to express wishes, hypotheticals, or conditions contrary to fact. Here are some examples based on the episode:
Hypothetical Situations:
Example 1
यदि मुनि के पास एक और घोड़ा होता, तो वह खुश होता।(hypothetical)
(If Muni had another horse, he would be happy.)
Example 2
काश मुनि को अंग्रेज़ी आती। (hypothetical)
(I wish Muni knew English.)
Example 3
अगर माँ होती तो वह मुझे ले जाती।(wish)
(If mother would have been here, she would have taken me.)
Causative verbs - Causative verbs are quite versatile and are used frequently in everyday conversation to indicate that one person is causing another to perform an action.
सुनना (to hear) → सुनवाना (to make someone hear)
मैंने उसे गाना सुनवाया। (I made him/her listen to the song.)
Example from the Video
कौन करवायेगा होमवर्क?
The "जब तक … तब तक" construction in Hindi is used to express a relationship of duration between two actions or states, similar to "as long as" or "until" in English. This construction is typically used to indicate that one action or state will continue as long as another action or state continues.
Structure:
जब तक (jab tak) - As long as / Until
तब तक (tab tak) - Then / During that time / Until then
Examples:
जब तक तुम नहीं आओगे, तब तक मैं यहाँ रहूँगा।
Translation: I will stay here until you come.
Breakdown:
जब तक तुम नहीं आओगे: As long as you don't come / Until you come
तब तक मैं यहाँ रहूँगा: I will stay here
Participles add richness to sentences by providing additional information about the action, its continuity, completion, or resulting state.
Example-
अभी तक मम्मी नहीं आई।
(Mother has not arrived yet.)
PRACTICE EXERCISE
🤔 Reflection Questions
Q1. How can we ensure that everyone in India has equal access to both English and Hindi, regardless of their social background?
Q2. How does code-mixing impact the development and preservation of Hindi?
Q3. Does code-mixing create a barrier for those who are not familiar with both English and Hindi?
Q4. Would code-mixing be as prevalent if English hadn't been imposed by the British?
Q5. How do you think the power dynamics during British rule influenced the way English is used in India today?