Oriental languages and civilizations

The first year of Hindi language course (“Hindi 1”) is divided in three phases. For each of them, students will attend the classes of both the teacher prof. Milanetti and the native speaker(s). In the first phase (weeks 1 and 2), students will be introduced to the basic elements of language: origins of Hindi language and its lexicon, listening and speaking, reading and writing. During the second phase, which partially overlaps with the first one (weeks 3 to 17), students will study the following topics: nouns; pronouns; adjectives; simple and compound postposition; verbs: root, present/imperfective participles, the simple present, the imperfective tense, the present progressive/continuous, the imperfective progressive/continuous; sentence structure: positive sentences, negative sentences, interrogative sentences; comparatives and superlatives; numbers and their formation; verbs: past participles; past/preterite tenses: perfect tense, present perfect tense, past perfect tense; the structure of sentences in the preterite tenses. The third phase (weeks 18 to 21) will mainly focus on program based exercises and preparation tests. Overall, the course “Hindi 1” is based on the chapters 1 to 12 of the reference book (G. Milanetti, T. Gupta, "Corso di Lingua Hindi", Hoepli, Milano 2008, see Bibliography). Each chapter of the book is comprised of a text section, a detailed grammar section, and of selected oral and written exercises, to be studied and resolved both during classes and as home work. Other teaching material consists of texts published for Indian children, cartoons and the illustrated alphabet. Particular attention is given to the correct pronunciation keeping in mind the difficulty in articulating some consonants and the perception of the difference in the vowel lengths. The exercises are carried out both in couples as well as in groups to encourage interaction and socialization. Thanks to the seminars and the conferences that are regularly organized by the teaching staff, students will also reach a fair level of knowledge on major issues regarding contemporary Indian culture and society. The annual workload, that amounts to 114 hours, is divided as follows: 42 hours as classroom learning with prof. Milanetti, 72 hours as integrative exercises and training activities in linguistic laboratories with the native speaker(s).

The language course “Hindi 1” does not require any previous knowledge either of the language or of contemporary India. However, proficiency in comparative grammar (both as specific discipline or as deriving from inductive reasoning) will be particularly useful.

The reference book valid for the full year is: G.Milanetti, S.T. Gupta, Corso di Lingua Hindi, Hoepli 2008, Chapters 1 to 12. I semester: Chapters 1 to 7, with written and oral exercises. II semester: Chapters 8 to 12, with written and oral exercises. Bibliography: AA.VV. Vārtā aur kathāeṃ, Rashtrabhasha Pracar Samiti, Wardha, n.d.; AA.VV., Hindī - Bāl bhār’tī, Madhya Pradesh Shasan Mudranalay, Bhopal, 1955; Y.Kachru, R.Pandharipande, Intermediate Hindi, Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi 1990; P. Caracchi, Primo corso di lingua hindi – esercizi, crestomazia, lessico, Libreria stampatori, Torino 2009.

Students who will attend less than a half of the programmed classes, are advised to contact the teachers in order to agree upon a specific learning program.

The language course “Hindi 1” provides for two final examinations – a non-verbalized written test and an oral exam – which aim at assessing the students’ learning outcomes. Written test will be based on the teaching program such as described in the specific section. This test will last 3 hrs. and will assess: (a) the level of competence that has been acquired as regards written language (writing, reading, orthography, knowledge of grammar, composition of written texts by using appropriate terms and structures); (b)the capacity to give information and to logically organise arguments and ideas when answering to specific questions. The outcome of the written test will be evaluated ‘idoneo’ (‘adequate’) or ‘non idoneo’ (‘not adequate’). In order to be admitted to the oral test and pass the full examination, students are required to achieve the prescribed ‘idoneo’ (‘adequate’) level. Oral exam will be based on the teaching program such as described in the specific section. This exam will assess: (a) the level of competence that has been acquired as regards oral language (pronunciation, listening, understanding, composition of oral sentences by using appropriate terms and structures); (b)the capacity to give information and to logically organise arguments and ideas when orally answering to specific questions; (c) students’ knowledge on major issues regarding contemporary Indian culture and society. The results of the oral test will correspond to the final evaluation, which will be expressed in thirties (according to the Italian grading system).

The language course “Hindi 1” is based on two different teaching methodologies, which are instrumental in achieving the training objectives and tailored to the contents of the teaching program. The annual workload, that amounts to 114 hours, is actually divided in 42 hours as classroom learning with prof. Milanetti and 72 hours as integrative exercises and training activities in linguistic laboratories with the native speaker(s). The course has been planned in order that the training objectives will be reached not so much through specific modules or methodologies, as by the integration of the different teaching techniques. This integration (that combines classroom learning, integrative exercises and activities, and activities in linguistic laboratories) represents in fact one of the basic elements of the teaching methodology that has been applied and implemented by prof. Milanetti and his staff since a long time. It must be noted that the above-mentioned category of integrative exercises and activities is comprised also of the conferences and the seminars thanks to which – as indicated in the section on learning objectives – students will be able to reach a fair level of knowledge on major issues regarding contemporary Indian culture and society. This in turn will strengthen their operating skills in the ultimate perspective of their employment or self-employment in various professional domains.