For all the netizens out there, the term “Hinglish” is definitely not new! For those who don’t know, Hinglish is a combination of English and Hindi used while communicating. It is known that English is the most widely spoken language whereas Hindi is the second largest spoken in the world. When it comes to India, it is one of the most populated countries in the world. So, it is but obvious that Hinglish has a higher level of preference in India.

Hinglish is now the second most commonly used language in India. And according to Professor David Crystal, it might not be long before it becomes the Queen’s new English. He says that there are more than 350 million Indians who widely use Hinglish in their daily lives as a common mode of communication. This number is far beyond the total number of people speaking in English, both in the United States and the United Kingdom.

What led to the emergence of this concept? Firstly, Indians are known to be the brainiest in the world. There are people who might debate on this statement…but it is a fact! Indians are found in every part of the world. And so, with Indians come the Indian language which obviously is mixed with the local language. This local language in most cases turns out to be English.

Secondly, connecting with the world has its own perks! The Indian culture is slowly and steadily gaining popularity outside the subcontinent. These mainly include Bollywood movies which have been found to be quite amusing, thanks to its song and dance sequences. These movies are a good source of Hinglish.

Thirdly, with the advent of globalization, Internet was introduced to Indians. With Internet came online social networking in the form of Orkut scraps, emails, chats which introduced us all to another form of Hinglish. This included using English script as a medium to communicate in Hindi. A few years back, this trend might have seemed to be very weird and probably quite difficult to comprehend to what is being communicated. This is the most common form of Hinglish used by one and all. This is to such an extent that there are some who find it quite a task to actually read in Hindi. And so, it is not very hard to believe that Hinglish would soon spread through the Internet.

In India, English has had and still enjoys a status in itself. This is due to the Colonial history that the country has. It continues to be the language of the elites and the classes. And it is the only language that binds Indians together where there are many different languages and numerous dialects.

And for the GenX urbanites, it is the new mantra of being cool! It is agreed that India lives in its villages. However, this concept is spreading beyond the urban to the semi – urban India as well.

Above all, time will tell the concurrent impact that it would have on the Indian society as a whole and its implication on a global platform.

United States is still in lead, as far as grabbing medals is concerned. Performance surely has a major role to play in their triumph, but there is one major factor which has come into existence in their road to success. Competing in Canada is just like playing in a playground next door, without much diversion seen in culture, language or ethnicity. Surely US hold an added advantage as they are familiar with Canadian ambiance.

Coming back to the recent results, United States went on to post a glorious victory over Canada in ice-hockey, beating the host by a quick margin of 5-3. The loss has surely stunned the Canadian team as it was not expected as the outcome!

According to reports, more than half of the Canadian population glued to their television sets to watch the event on Sunday! The stats make it as one of the most watched events in Canadian celluloid history.

Let us have a look at the medal Count: United States is leading with 25 medals, with Germany following it with 21 medals and Norway having a medal count of 14 till now. Others following the race are Russian Federation, Canada and Korea with 11, 10 and 9 medals each.

In another new piece, Canada managed to grab a gold medal in the ice dance competition, courtesy its ace skaters Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. The medal was far more special, as it was Canada’s debut gold medal in ice dancing.

Stay tuned for more coverage on Vancouver Winter Olympics!

The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada is a judiciary committee that reports to the Canadian government on issues linked with Immigration and Refugee. At present, Brian P. Goodman, is the current chairman of the committee.

The Board is decked with four divisions: Refugee Protection Division, Immigration Division, Immigration Appeal Division and Refugee Appeal Division. Each division of IRB has the onus of making decisions on various immigration related issues, but the tribunal process for every division remains the same. The hearing is commenced in the similar way as if a hearing is going on in a court, rather in an informal manner. The process follows Canadian laws. Following are some of the facets linked with the Tribunal process:

The applicant appearing before IRB holds the right to be represented by a trusted source (for instance an Immigration and Visa consultant, family member, to name a few). In addition, you have all the freedom to present arguments and documents for your case.
Hearing can be held by various means like in person, video conference or telephonic conversation also. The language used can be English or French and the applicant has the right to choose the language for his hearing. Person concerned can also apply for an interpreter.
“Member” is the term given to those who hear the case. Also, the hearings of the refugee are kept private while others can be made public.
The decision is made on the basis of the background of the applicant, documents and evidences provided by the concerned person, rules and regulations of the Canadian law and the hearing.
It is mandatory that the judge (also known as Member) should justify the decision made by him by giving ample reasons to support the final decision.

For more information on the cases applied under the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, take advice from an expert Immigration veteran and commence further.

Jason Kenney, Immigration Minister Canada has recently criticized the fact that people with poor language skills easily gain Canadian Citizenship. Though it is mandatory to have proficiency in Canadian languages including French and English, Kenney says that the language requirements are not enforced in a strict manner, which leads to immigrants with poor language skills.

He recently held a meeting with certain citizens residing for more than 15 years and found that none of them were able to converse in either of the official languages. Now the minister is planning to revamp the Immigration process in order to increase the priority given to the official languages of Canada.

The amendments would also ease out the procedure with which foreign credentials are accepted and will assist the applicants applying for Canadian Immigration in a major way.

It is advised to take a language course before planning to migrate to Canada. It will not only provide you with an added advantage in your application process but would help you cope with an altogether new world of Canada. In addition, you can hire the services of an Immigration and Visa advisor to know more.

Moving to a new country brings in a lot of excitement, but at the same time the whole procedure is accompanied by a fair amount of stress too!

• First of all, make your mind that you really want to move on to this new country. A mind filled with speculations or doubts cannot succeed. Ask yourself whether the new culture will really suit you and your family members! Remove all the confusions and head on towards a better future.
• Preparation is the key to excellence. Search for your job and house well in advance to avoid any hassles in future. Assure that you have enough financial assets to sustain in the first few struggling months of your move. Good budgeting makes all the difference when it comes to moving to an altogether new world.
• Think what you want to do with your current home (Give it on rent, sell it, leave it). What about the household items? Make a thorough check-list of what to the stuff that you need to pack and take with you and the items that need to be discarded. Transportation aspect needs to be a reliable one.
• If you have already got a job in the new country, know about the relocation benefits offered by your company. Also understand all the benefits offered by your firm before making the final move as no one wants to end up in a messy situation after landing in a new country and know the hidden clauses later on!
• If the prospective country has a new language, ensure that you learn its official language to ensure your comfort level and enhance your chances of a better future.
• Ensure that the documentation is right in order! There are so many things including birth certificate, experience certificate, financial proofs, to name a few. This is one of the most critical aspects and requires an expert guidance from an experience Immigration veteran.

Good luck!

Treatment, evaluation and diagnosis of human communication disorders that comprise in language, voice, speech and hearing disorders are all taken care of by speech-language pathologists and audiologists. Extended care facilities, community centres, public health centres, rehabilitation centres, educational institutions and day clinics are the employers of these specialists. They also privately practice after immigration to Canada.

Example titles that are easily expected to get an approval under the NOCL occupation “Audiologists and speech-language pathologists” are: speech-language pathologist, research audiologist, certified audiologist, speech therapist, educational audiologist, clinical audiologist, speech-language pathologist, speech-language clinician and many others.

Given below are the primary duties that an audiologist willing to migrate to Canada must fulfill, in order to earn extra points granted to occupations listed under the NOCL:

Administering audiometric examinations and tests for the evaluation and diagnosis of the degree and the type of hearing impairment of the patient
Planning and implementation of rehabilitation/habilitation programs for the well being of patients. This would include selection, adjustment and fitting of hearing aids, providing counseling and teaching speech reading
Establishing personal care plans, working as an interdisciplinary team’s member
Conducting hearing-related research
Instructing students as well as other personnel of the health care industry

Duties that a speech-language pathologists are expected to fulfill are:

Administering examinations and tests and observing patients for evaluating and diagnosing voice, speech, swallowing, cognitive-linguistic, language and resonance disorders
Planning and implementing remedial programs so as to correct voice, language and speech disorders
Establishing personal care plans, working as an interdisciplinary team’s member
Conducting research on speech and various disorders of communication as well as design and development of diagnostic devices and procedures
May have to instruct healthcare personnel and students

Employment requirements for this occupation are:

A Master’s level qualification is required in audiology, for Canada immigration of an audiologist
A Master’s level qualification is required in speech-language pathology, if a speech-language pathologist wishes to immigrate to Canada
Speech-language pathologists and audiologists in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, New Brunswick and Ontario
Membership in the Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists and national association may also be required
Under a few jurisdictions, audiologists may have to get a license for allowing patients to dispense their hearing aids

With these points in mind, if you think yourself to be an eligible applicant under the occupation “Audiologists and speech-language pathologists” of NOCL, do not delay the submission of your Canada visa application for you never know if you will get this opportunity again or not? An experienced immigration specialist is your best guiding star in the process and stays by your side as a constant support until your final settlement in Canada. So, hurry and get going. Canada is waiting for you!

HIPPY – Home Instruction for Parents of Pre-School Youngsters, a program that helps parents prepare their kids for school and beyond, is expanding its roots in various Canadian cities courtesy two federal departments - Citizenship and Immigration Canada (funding of $3,150,544 ) and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (funding of $336,782).

The program recently celebrated its ten long years in Canada with a funding of almost $3.5 million. HIPPY assists parents in handling the basic requirements of their children and help immigrant families know more about the Canadian way of life, language and culture in a better way. Another motto of the program is to remove all the barriers and bring all the families together in nourishing their children in an enhanced way.

Funding by federal programs has further enhanced HIPPY’s operations in various places like Toronto, Red Deer and Halifax, to name a few. According to Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, Jason Kenney, these funding would allow HIPPY to expand its roots and reach to various families who are really in need of programs of these sort.

HIPPY accredits that parents are the first educator to their child and believes in reducing social isolation in the society. In addition, the new curriculum would be draped with more Canadian content in order to offer a deep insight into the Canadian culture and their way of life.

Hire an Immigration expert and ease out your application process!

It is a well known fact that excellent language skills are a gateway to enhance your chances to Immigration and Visa approval. In addition, they help you in earning more points for your PR Status.

But are you aware of the fact that strong language skills are also critical to embellish your post landing issues such as employability in Canada! Learning languages like English and French can further assist you in making contacts, holding healthy communications with neighbors, do well in your interviews, be a part of a community and so on.

In fact, the government of Canada supports a diverse range of language classes for the new immigrants, out of which some are even provided at minimal costs. In addition, a new language program called “Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada” is designed to enhance the language skills of newcomers along with providing other levels of instructions in various educational and private institutions all over the country.

So if you are one of those who is planning to immigrate to Canada, the first thing that you need to do is gain proficiency in your language skills and hire an experienced Immigration and Visa expert for a smooth procedure!

Bon Voyage!

You have finally immigrated to Canada! Wow! No need to say that the last few days of completing the whole immigration process were really hectic and full of excitement. That phase has passed now. Now you must think about establishing yourself in Canada! Right?

You need to consider various aspects such as settling down, finding an accommodation, a nice job, getting your children enrolled in a good institution, to name a few. The very first thing that you need to do is run your mind through the following check list:

• Make sure that you have ample bank-balance to support self and dependants (if any). Also assure that you apply and/or shortlist some of the likely employers for a credible job in order to earn a stable income and maintain your bank-balance.
• Start exploring your “Housing Options.” Different places like Calgary, Toronto and Ottawa (to name a few) offer different prices as far as the accommodation is concerned. Make your move wisely.
• You have to see to it that you have applied for the Canadian identification and carry the relevant documents (like your license etc.) with you every time. In addition, keep some of the bank-receipts handy with yourself. You never know when you can need them.
• It is a wise option to keep some Canadian currency with you. You can exchange your money for the Canadian currency.
• Take care of yourself and maintain a health insurance that would keep you away from the future hassles. Take at least three months insurance for self and all family members immediately on landing on a PR visa. A wise decision would be to get one before landing in Canada.
• It is also beneficial to apply for a Health Insurance Card as soon as possible and permitted.
• Learn more about the local aspects like the transportation, pricing of basic utilities and so on. This way, you can keep yourself updated with the information on the current happenings around you. (Tip: Get a local map of your area and have a sneak peak of all the places located near you)
• Start working on your language and communication skills: This would help you in interacting with the local masses and keep your thoughts in front of them in a better way.
• Make a search and list out agencies and organizations – Government and NGO- that are mandated to help the newly landed immigrants and their families on various aspects related to starting the new life in Canada.
• You can also search communities, religious agencies and organizations that can help you in establishing a network with the already settled people in Canada.
• Last, but certainly not the least: Know about your rights and responsibilities under the Canadian Law and Human Rights.

Migrating to a new country is never easy. Such matters require a professional assistance from an experienced veteran beside you. Hire an immigration specialist today.

Have a Happy Stay!