On Sat, May 3, 2008 at 3:28 PM, ss wrote: > > > There's always a problem with generalizing from a small sample[1]. > > > > Udhay, I agree with you in principle, but in this case the sample size > > isn't small. See, > > > > http://www.thehindu.com/2007/09/10/stories/2007091052840500.htm > > http://tamil.cri.cn/ > > http://hindi.cri.cn/ > > This seems to support my impression that the Chinese are far more serious > about foreign languages than Indians are. >
It could probably be more because of China being a communist state rather than general linguistic curiosity. I have meet plenty of russians who spoke hindi (and in some instances regional languages) fluently. All of them had worked for the government in some capacity and at least 2 of them had worked for the Kgb/Fsb as desk officers. (You can usually find them at various russian embassies with designations like "Environmental Desk Officer" , "Cultural Coordination officer"....) ashok
