Combined, the languages of Hindi and Urdu are spoken by almost a billion people across Pakistan and India. Hindi is the lingua franca of the entire country of India. Despite the growing international prevalence of the Hindi language in business, technology, entertainment industries, and more, Hindi remains a less-commonly taught language in the United States.
As the most widely spoken language in India, Hindi gives students interested in the sub-continent the freedom to study, work in, and explore the country. It is also a step towards learning other Indo-Aryan languages such as Urdu, Bengali, or Punjabi. As India's profile continues to skyrocket, proficiency in Hindi and the nuanced cultural knowledge gained through Hindi language study will be in high demand.
Announcing the CLS 2021 Finalists
The CLS Program is pleased to announce the results of its 2021 summer competition. We applaud all applicants for the 2021 CLS Program for their commitment to language learning and congratulate the finalists and alternates selected from this impressive pool of students.
Finalists for the...
Read morePosted March 03, 2021
Language Spotlight: Aaron Shew on Language Learning and Career Opportunities
Aaron M. Shew (Urdu 2009, 2010) is an Assistant Professor and REL Wilson Endowed Chair of Agricultural Economics at Arkansas State University. In this language spotlight, he shares with us what brought him to the study of Urdu and Hindi, how these language learning experiences helped to shape his scholarship, and about the importance of language immersion programs.
Posted November 10, 2020
Here's Why Proud Americans Should Learn Mandarin, Other Languages
Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo's op-ed in Newsweek makes the case for Americans to learn critical languages and announces the launch of languages.state.gov.
Posted October 28, 2020
A Program of the 
