South Asian CultureWorld Geography

Cy Woods HS

Spring 2014

Map of South Asia

India

Pakistan

Sri Lanka

Nepal

Bangladesh

Bhutan

Language• There are 14 official

languages with 24 spoken by more than 1 million people. There are countless dialects.

• The primary official language is Hindi.

• Because there are so many languages, the lingua franca (bridge language) is English. It is used in business, education and government.

Ethnicity

Indo-Aryan ethnic and linguistic group Dravidian ethnic and linguistic group

Diffusion of Hinduism

Since Hindus do not proselytize, the religion is spread whenHindus move to other parts of the world

Etiquette

• As it is most commonly used, namaste is roughly equivalent to "greetings" or "good day," in English.

• Namaste is a non-contact form of respectful greeting and can be used universally while meeting a person of different gender, age or social status.

• Since India is becoming more westernized, shaking hands is also appropriate.

Place hands together with short bow

Etiquette• As a sign of respect and to ask for blessings, it is customary to bend and touch the feet of your elders.

Etiquette• It is considered impolite to address someone who is older or has a higher status by their first name.

• In Hindi, it is customary to add “ji” to their first name as a sign of respect. “Uncle” or “Auntie” are often used with older non-relatives.

Gandhiji

Etiquette• Apologize immediately if your feet or shoes touch another person as they are considered unclean.

• Pointing footwear at someone is considered an insult.

Etiquette• The Western side-to-side hand wave for “hello” is often interpreted by Indians as “not” or “go away”.

Is he happy to see me or does he want me to leave?

Etiquette• Like the British and Americans, Indians generally allow an arm's length space between themselves and others.

• Don't stand close to Indians. Indians value personal space.

Bollywood

• The capital of the Hindi-language cinema based in Mumbai (formerly Bombay).

• More than 1,000 movies are made each year compared to around 500 for Hollywood.

Shahrukh Khan

Hrithik Roshan

Aishwarya Rai

Kajol

Highest grossing Bollywood movie ($70 M)

Cricket

• First played in England in the late 16th century, the British imported this sport to South Asia in the mid 19th century as their empire expanded.

Orange denotes most popular

Appearance

Sari

Bindi

Henna