Bridgerton: Reddit reacts to confusion over use of ‘Hindustani’ language, says ‘it’s not the same as Hindi’

The second season of Netflix’s hit series Bridgerton, which started streaming on the OTT platform on Friday, has a major representation of the Indian culture. The series stars Simone Ashley as Kate Sharma and Charithra Chandran as her younger sister Edwina Sharma, and is full of little details about Indian traditions, like a Haldi ceremony ahead of the wedding. One such scene, which made a reference to the languages in India, has now sparked a debate on social media. Also Read| Bridgerton’s Charithra Chandran recalls breaking into tears upon hearing Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham song on set

A Reddit user recently posted a clip from the first episode of the Netflix series, in which Kate is boasting about her younger sister’s linguistic skills to Lady Danbury (played by Adjoa Andoh). Edwina speaks a line in French, after which Kate adds, “She is accomplished in both Latin and Greek, in addition to Marathi and Hindustani, of course.” The Reddit user captioned the video, “She is fluent in Hindustani ?! Man,” suggesting that Kate should have used the term Hindi to describe the language.

However, several Reddit users soon dropped comments to point out that Hindustani, not Hindi, is the correct term to use for the language widely spoken in India. One wrote, “According to Google: ‘Hindustani language, lingua franca of northern India and Pakistan. Two variants of Hindustani, Urdu and Hindi, are official languages in Pakistan and India, respectively.'”

Another user explained, “OP, I think the language that many north Indians speak is called hindustani as it has Hindi and Urdu mixed in it. Since most of us don’t speak ‘shudh’ Hindi. Had they mentioned, she speaks ‘Indian’ that would have been incorrect, and would have aligned with what you are trying to imply.” A third one wrote, “Nobody speaks shud Hindi or Khalis Urdu. We speak a blend of both which is coined Hindustani.”

One commented, “Bro hindi and hindustani are not same. They are real different languages. And what we speak primarily is called hindustani. Hindi is much more complicated.” Another joked that OP should have performed a google search before making the comment.

Based on a series of books of the same name by Julia Quinn, Bridgerton follows the eight siblings of the Bridgerton family as they attempt to find love in Regency-era England. The second season of the period drama focuses on the love life of the eldest Bridgerton sibling Lord Anthony Bridgerton, played by Jonathan Bailey, as he embarks on a search for a wife.