What language do Bolly celebs speak at home? - Page 4

Lagta hai Bollywood ne SoBo ka alagich image bana diya hai, SoCal ke tarj pe lol.

Shayadse main bhi SoBo qualify ho sakta hoon (depending on whom u ask), aur mere definitely bhot se dost SoBo ke hain.

My experience:

Mere Gujarati dost gharpe Gujarati bolte the, Marathi dost gharpe Marathi, Sindhi dost gharpe Sindhi, Marwari dost hit-and-miss gharpe Marwari ya Hindi, aur North Indian dost gharpe Hindi. Ek bawa dost tha, woh shayadse gharpe English bolata tha. Having said that, bhotse friends gharpe English bhi bolate the, lekin overall from population percentage that's a minority.

Mumbai mein overwhelmingly the language of choice is Hindi, not English. Again speaking purely from what majority population speaks, not Bollywood.

Important note: No matter gharpe kaunsa language bolate hain, the gaali of choice is always Hindi ones 😎

Disclaimer: Mumbai se nikalke time ho gayelay lekin I doubt things changed this drastically.

Originally posted by: return_to_hades

Why would it not make sense? When everyone speaks a different language, it makes sense to have an education in a single common language. English tends to be preferred because of colonization but also because people perceive English as opening more opportunities in life.

I grew up quadrilingual in Bombay (English, Konkani, Hindi, Marathi). With my immediate family, I speak a mix of English and Konkani. Most of the time I am not even aware of what language I am speaking in with my family - it just flows. By some of my friends spoke Tamil, Telugu, and Bengali - languages I don't speak - so I defaulted to English with them many times, more like Hinglish because all language in Bombay is really b@stardized. I was in my twenties when I realized that kanda batata is not Hindi.

You misunderstood me or perhaps my reaction to the bolded statement is confusing. What I meant is, if learning one language in school is the reason for everyone communicating in that language at home in a melting pot society, why isn’t this phenomenon seen in the US?

Originally posted by: AdrakKombucha

Lagta hai Bollywood ne SoBo ka alagich image bana diya hai, SoCal ke tarj pe lol.

Shayadse main bhi SoBo qualify ho sakta hoon (depending on whom u ask), aur mere definitely bhot se dost SoBo ke hain.

My experience:

Mere Gujarati dost gharpe Gujarati bolte the, Marathi dost gharpe Marathi, Sindhi dost gharpe Sindhi, Marwari dost hit-and-miss gharpe Marwari ya Hindi, aur North Indian dost gharpe Hindi. Ek bawa dost tha, woh shayadse gharpe English bolata tha. Having said that, bhotse friends gharpe English bhi bolate the, lekin overall from population percentage that's a minority.

Mumbai mein overwhelmingly the language of choice is Hindi, not English. Again speaking purely from what majority population speaks, not Bollywood.

Important note: No matter gharpe kaunsa language bolate hain, the gaali of choice is always Hindi ones 😎

Disclaimer: Mumbai se nikalke time ho gayelay lekin I doubt things changed this drastically.

Among the many places I lived in, South Mumbai is one. Almost everyone spoke to me, without prompting, in English.😕 Could because I'm Malayali. So my memories of the place are very diff from yours clearly.

Originally posted by: AdrakKombucha

Lagta hai Bollywood ne SoBo ka alagich image bana diya hai, SoCal ke tarj pe lol.

Shayadse main bhi SoBo qualify ho sakta hoon (depending on whom u ask), aur mere definitely bhot se dost SoBo ke hain.

My experience:

Mere Gujarati dost gharpe Gujarati bolte the, Marathi dost gharpe Marathi, Sindhi dost gharpe Sindhi, Marwari dost hit-and-miss gharpe Marwari ya Hindi, aur North Indian dost gharpe Hindi. Ek bawa dost tha, woh shayadse gharpe English bolata tha. Having said that, bhotse friends gharpe English bhi bolate the, lekin overall from population percentage that's a minority.

Mumbai mein overwhelmingly the language of choice is Hindi, not English. Again speaking purely from what majority population speaks, not Bollywood.

Important note: No matter gharpe kaunsa language bolate hain, the gaali of choice is always Hindi ones 😎

Disclaimer: Mumbai se nikalke time ho gayelay lekin I doubt things changed this drastically.

Thank you for sharing your perspective. It is nice to hear from one more person with life experience in Mumbai/Bombay or else you just go by what the Ananyas, Shanayas, Fanayas do in reality shows.

Originally posted by: Supari_khala

You misunderstood me or perhaps my reaction to the bolded statement is confusing. What I meant is, if learning one language in school is the reason for everyone communicating in that language at home in a melting pot society, why isn’t this phenomenon seen in the US?

Ah, I get it now.

South Asians in South Asia take home for granted. In their homeland, they're surrounded by people speaking local languages. They don't feel the compulsion to preserve their mother tongue.

South Asians abroad cling to their homeland. Abroad, they're surrounded by foreign languages, customs, and traditions. They feel this need to cling to and preserve anything they can from the homeland.

I didn't strongly identify with being a Konkani speaker until I moved to the USA.

I also find it interesting desis abroad tend to be more riled up about cultural appropriation or representation in media. Teen Vogue's article about desi girls in media resonates with desis growing up here. But for me, I'm like eh - I see plenty of Indian movies and shows and never feel the lack of representation. 4MSP is more relatable to me than Never Have I ever.

Originally posted by: HearMeRoar

Among the many places I lived in, South Mumbai is one. Almost everyone spoke to me, without prompting, in English.😕 Could because I'm Malayali. So my memories of the place are very diff from yours clearly.

In formal situations, at school / college / work the language used is almost always English. But at home, or with close circle of friends it's different in my experience.

Did you speak English at home? Did your friends in Mumbai speak English at home?

Originally posted by: AdrakKombucha

In formal situations, at school / college / work the language used is almost always English. But at home, or with close circle of friends it's different in my experience.

Did you speak English at home? Did your friends in Mumbai speak English at home?

I was in my early teens at the time, so my company was mostly kids in the same building. There was a lot of Hinglish as well English but could be because when I was around, they were being polite.

Originally posted by: AdrakKombucha

Lagta hai Bollywood ne SoBo ka alagich image bana diya hai, SoCal ke tarj pe lol.

Shayadse main bhi SoBo qualify ho sakta hoon (depending on whom u ask), aur mere definitely bhot se dost SoBo ke hain.

My experience:

Mere Gujarati dost gharpe Gujarati bolte the, Marathi dost gharpe Marathi, Sindhi dost gharpe Sindhi, Marwari dost hit-and-miss gharpe Marwari ya Hindi, aur North Indian dost gharpe Hindi. Ek bawa dost tha, woh shayadse gharpe English bolata tha. Having said that, bhotse friends gharpe English bhi bolate the, lekin overall from population percentage that's a minority.

Mumbai mein overwhelmingly the language of choice is Hindi, not English. Again speaking purely from what majority population speaks, not Bollywood.

Important note: No matter gharpe kaunsa language bolate hain, the gaali of choice is always Hindi ones 😎

Disclaimer: Mumbai se nikalke time ho gayelay lekin I doubt things changed this drastically.

I guess English v Hindi depends a lot on

- suburb

- class

- school

- neighborhood

- ICSE vs SSC board (edit to add)

Originally posted by: return_to_hades

As for why so many people speak English primarily. Bollywood celebrities who grew up in Bombay go to convent schools like Bombay Scottish, Don Bosco, etc. These schools teach English from the kindergarten level so English is the first language (or the children grow up truly multilingual). Bombay is also a melting pot where everyone has a different mother tongue. So by default from a very young age children communicate with each other in English. Students who do go to Hindi or Marathi medium schools tend to communicate in those languages as their first language. Lots of variances in primary language by suburb and class also.

But year, many celebrities speak English because that's what they grew up with primarily. I think it maybe true with many large metros across India.

Thanks for the info 👍

Do celebrities kids go only to convent schools? 🤔 What about the school run by Nita Ambani? I has international syllabus, has only rich kids, etc

Originally posted by: Supari_khala

Thank you for sharing your perspective. It is nice to hear from one more person with life experience in Mumbai/Bombay or else you just go by what the Ananyas, Shanayas, Fanayas do in reality shows.

Let me give you some perspective. Almost half of Mumbai's population lives in slums. HALF!

How many recent movies displayed their lifestyle. Maybe one tried to - Gully Boy.

Dharavi - one of the biggest slums of the world IS in South Mumbai!

Gaiety Galaxy - a cinemaplex in Bandra has both millionaires AND slum dwellers living within a stone's throw. THAT is Mumbai for you. The real Mumbai - it's a true melting pot. 😊