Hindi: 7–10 Sequence / Levels 7 and 8 / Understanding / Role of language and culture
Content description
Understand the relationship between language and culture, reflecting on how languages reflect values, belief systems and perspectives that may be differently interpreted by speakers of other languages
Elaborations
identifying elements of Hindi that reflect cultural traditions and values, such as the use of forms of address that reflect status, age and relationship, for example, using the suffix ji when referring to elders or people who merit respect, forms of address such as नमस्कार, नमस्ते; आप कैसे हैं, तुम कैसे हो; the addition of श्री, श्रीमती for married women and the formal honorific कुमारी attached to forms of address to unmarried women
exploring how culturally defined concepts such as family, responsibility or hospitality influence forms of expression and patterns of interaction in Hindi, considering whether changes in cultural and social practices over time are translated into changes in language use
recognising Hindi words and expressions that reflect traditions, values and cultural priorities, such as forms of address like स्वामी जी for a religious leader, गुरु जी for a male teacher, बाबा जी for an older male person and राम राम as a mode of greeting in villages
reflecting on the dynamic nature of culture and on the relationship between language and culture, identifying visible and invisible elements of culture expressed in language that may be differently interpreted by speakers of other languages
discussing the cultural significance of expressions in Hindi that characterise more indirect forms of language compared to English, for example, by saying कोई बात नहीं, चलो जाने दो.
reflecting on how cultures influence ways of thinking about or acting in social, physical and temporal environments, for example, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander relationships with place, language and culture; the concept of non-linear time expressed in Hindi, as in कल – ‘yesterday/tomorrow’; परसों – ‘day before yesterday/day after tomorrow’; the concepts of अहिंसा and कर्म
identifying expressions used in news reports or sports commentaries that reflect traditional beliefs and include cultural allusions, such as references to gods and legendary heroes, for example, अगर इंद्रदेव मेहरबान हुए तो भारत बिना मैच खेले पहुँचेगा फाइनल में
finding examples of language and behaviours associated with Indian culture that are part of everyday life in Australia and around the world, for example, words and expressions associated with religion, yoga, dance, Bollywood, food, sport
