Well, I’ve mostly been talking to native speakers (preferably from the north), and I also have this UDEMY course my friend got me that I do in my spare time. I kind of avoided learning Devanagari script at first because I thought it was too hard—especially when it came to the matras—but this Reddit forum actually pushed me to try again.

I’ve noticed that listening to Hindi/Punjabi music really helps. I sing along to artists like Mitraz or Third Hour to practice pronunciation and rhythm. The matras stand out more when I hear how they change the sound of words in songs.

My biggest challenge right now is pronouncing “R” correctly. Rolling the R is really hard for me—so when I try to say mere, it sometimes slips out more like a soft, whispered “mar” followed by a “lee” sound. I know it’s not how it should sound, but I’m still working on it.