Proper word for growth - vikas?

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ursinuis
Proper word for growth - vikas?

Postby ursinuis » 2015-03-27, 0:51

Hello,

I need to know for certain what the correct Hindi word for "growth" or "development" is. When I used Google translate it said "vikāsa" - but some people have told me it's just "vikās" - no "a" on the end.

Also does it have the dash over the a - ā - as I have written it here? Is that a horizontal dash, or is it angled at all? What is the proper name for that mark?

If both vikāsa and vikās are acceptable, can you explain anything about why one might be preferred in certain uses over the other.

I am considering using it in the name of an NGO, and need to fully understand the usage and formatting.

Many thanks

eskandar
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Re: Proper word for growth - vikas?

Postby eskandar » 2015-03-28, 18:00

Google Translate gives the Sanskrit transliteration for Hindi words like this. As far as I understand it's a word of Sanskrit origin that would have been pronounced with a terminal vowel in Sanskrit (vikāsa) and without one in Hindi (vikās). I could be wrong - I don't know Sanskrit and don't really know Hindi, but that's my understanding.

The spelling of the word in Hindi is विकास. There isn't one standard way to write it in English; different people may spell it differently according to various systems. You could write it as vikās, vikas, or vikaas. Most ordinary Indians would not use the macron (the dash over the 'a', which is straight, not angled) nor even know how to produce it with a keyboard; they would probably write 'vikas' or 'vikaas'. However it's generally used by academics and other specialists.

If you have Indian partners you're working with in your NGO, I'm sure they can advise you better. If not, I might advise you to choose an English name instead. English is considered by many Indians (especially from non-Hindi-speaking areas) to be a more neutral language. Keep in mind that Hindi is the mother tongue of only 41% of Indians, at most. In most of the south, for example, people are far more comfortable in English than Hindi and many don't know Hindi at all. However if you're going to be operating in the 'Hindi belt' then there's probably no problem with using a Hindi name.

Hope that helps.
Please correct my mistakes in any language.

ursinuis

Re: Proper word for growth - vikas?

Postby ursinuis » 2015-03-30, 18:44

Thanks Eskander for that very helpful answer. I really appreciate it.


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