We were thrown into the deep end on Monday with our first Bangla class...four hours of Bangla class, but already it's becoming easier. Having knowledge of Hindi, however minute it is, has definitely helped me with the sounds, letters, and some grammar concepts (e.g. both have a subject-object-verb structure rather than English's subject-verb-object structure) but there aren't as many similarities in vocabulary as I thought there would be. We're taking classes at the American Institute for Indian Studies and have separate but equally amazing teachers for each subject: writing, grammar, speaking, vocabulary, and listening. In the vocabulary class alone I think we've been given over 200 words to learn this week so when they say intensive, they mean intensive. It's a language-lover's dream!
To give you a sample of what we've learned, here's my Bangla introduction:
amar nam pamela ar ami iowa theke esechi. My name is Pamela and I'm from Iowa.
Ekhon, ami salt lake-e thaki ar ami bangla sikhchi. Right now, I'm living in Salt Lake and am learning Bangla.
kendriya vidalayate ami pOre ekhane english pOrabo. Later, I will be teaching English at Kendriya Vidyalaya.
bEs! That's all!
Tumi Khob bhalo likhchi !!!!
ReplyDeleteI am Becky's colleague at pioneer in Des moines. As I am from India she was kind enough to share your blogs link with me.
Its nice and exciting to see India through your eyes.
Good luck with your stint in "Incredible India"!!!
Enjoy
- Amritha
I'm following you through your blog. You pick up the language so quickly!
ReplyDeleteWendy
@ Amritha - Thanks! I was so happy to see your comment and especially to be able to understand the Bangla you wrote! I hope you enjoy the blog!
ReplyDelete@ Wendy - We haven't learned a lot of grammar yet and are just memorizing useful phrases but hopefully by the end I'll be able to carry on a conversation, no matter how simple it may be :-D