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100 words in Mumbai – Marathi, Hindi, English?
Trying to work out just enough very tourist words to do please, thank you, a few basic phrases to indicate some kind of effort or make some primitive communication in “the local language” – would it be better to try to learn a little Marathi, or a little Hindi? Or is it really enough to rely on English …?
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2 Replies
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I was in both the north and south of India last year and English was fine. Most people we met were fluent, and if they weren’t we could still get by. I was in relatively urban areas though, it may be a different case in the sticks.
That said, it probably would bring a smile to people’s face if you could say thanks in their language (knowing which language they speak would be the trick).
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My girlfriend often travels to Mumbai on buisness. You’ll find that the educated people, hotel clerks, officials, concierges, etc, will know both Hindi and English, even if their “home” language is Mahrati. People with little or no education, rickshaw & taxi drivers for example, may only speak Mahrati.
Either way, it goes a very long way to know how to say a few “polite” words like please & thank-you.
Arnie
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