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Revision as of 17:47, 14 April 2004 by LordSimonofShropshire (talk | contribs) (populations)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)| Urdu (اردو ) | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in: | Pakistan, India and 19 other countries |
| Total speakers: | 104 Million |
| Ranking: | 20 |
| Genetic classification: |
Indo-European |
| Official status | |
| Official language of: | Pakistan, India |
| Regulated by: | not regulated by a language academy |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1: | ur |
| ISO 639-2: | urd |
| SIL: | URD |
Urdu(اردو) is an Indo-European language which originated in the 13th century in India. It was essentially the high-court language of the Mughals and placed a large and extensive Arabic-Persian vocabulary on a native Hindi base of grammar, usages and vocabulary. The result was what has been termed one of the world's most beautiful languages, the "Kohinoor" (a particular native, large and brilliant diamond) of India. It is most widely spoken today in India and Pakistan.
Urdu script and relationship to Arabic
Urdu is written in a derivative of the Persian alphabet which is itself derivative of the Arabic alphabet. It is read from right to left. Urdu is similar in appearance and letters to Arabic, Farsi, and Pashto. Urdu differs in appearance from Arabic in that it uses the more complex and sinuous nastaliq script whereas Arabic tends to the more modern naskh. Nastaliq is notoriously difficult to typeset, so Urdu newspapers are made from hand-written masters. Although the styles are different, people who can read Urdu can read Arabic, as Arabic uses the same alphabet but with fewer letters. There are efforts underway to develop more practical Urdu support on computers.
Usually, bare transliterations of Urdu into Roman letters usually omit many subtle pronunciations which have no equivalent in English or other languages which are written with the Roman alphabet, such as a sharp exhale at the end of certain words (known as aspirations). It should be noted that a reasonable and scientific system has emerged with specific notations to signify non-English sounds, but it is only properly read by someone already familiar with Urdu or Hindi; phoneticizing script, however, does serve a valid purpose as it would allow Indians, who usually write Hindi and even Urdu in Devnagari script, to commincate with Pakistanis only familiar with nastaliq.
Urdu is a lingua franca among many people in north India, and is the national language of Pakistan. Urdu is the 20th most spoken language in the world, spoken by about 60 million people as a mother tongue, and about 110 million including second language speakers. It is the official language of Pakistan and one of the official languages of India.
However, only 8% of Pakistanis speak Urdu as their 'mother tongue,' although nearly everyone in the country can understand spoken Urdu. As a result, Urdu is used as a more formal language while people speak in their various mother tongues (such as Punjabi) in more familiar settings. There is a considerable populace in India that is quite at home in Urdu, especially among the Muslim communities. However, spoken Hindustani is full of Urdu, and most educated poets in the North, whether Muslim, Hindu or Sikh, have a thorough knowledge of Urdu. Due to its heavy use in vernacular in concurrence with Hindi, its more Sanskritized sister-tongue, it may be said that the brand of Hindi-Urdu spoken in India is largely hybrid, and this is reflected greatly in Bollywood, many of whose songs are completely in Urdu. This mix is known as Hindustani.
Urdu literature and art
Urdu is well-known for its beautiful Urdu poetry. The Ghazal (عزل)is a form of poetry that was used very extensively by many poets of the Indian subcontinent, especially in Muslim culture. However, today, it has become a national artform that is loved by people of all fiaths. Famous Ghazal writers are Ghalib and Javed Akhtar and the most famous singer today is the Sikh Jagjit Singh.
Urdu also gave birth to a new and highly-respected genre of poetry, the Noha (نوحہ).
Some scholarly Islamic works, like the writings of Syed Abul A'la Maududi were originally written in Urdu. Famous writers in Urdu include Iqbal and Premchand.
Common Phrases
Hello = Assalaam O Alaikum (a common Muslim greeting)
Hello = Adaab (secular)
Good Bye = Khuda Haafiz (literally means God protect you)
yes = Haan(casual), ji(formal)
no = Nahi
please = Meherbani
thank you = Shukriya
It is nice to meet you = Aap se mil kar khushi hui
How are you? = Aapka Kya hal hey?
Do you speak English? = Kya aap angrezi boltay heyn?
I do not speak Urdu. = Main Urdu naheen bolta.
My name is ... = Mera nam ... hai.
Which way to Lahore = Lahore kiss taraf heyh
Hindustani
Grammatically, Urdu and Hindi are considered dialects of a single language which differ mainly in vocabulary where Urdu has borrowed from Persian and Arabic and Hindi has borrowed from Sanskrit.
The difference between the two languages, when spoken in purer form, is not quite the same as that between English of the Americas and that of the United Kingdom. Indeed, an effective illustration is that an Urdu speaker would be hard-pressed to understand a Hindi newscast (the assumption being formal language) and a Hindi speaker similarly flummoxed to understand an Urdu newscast. However, in day to day life, the languages realign on a more level plane.
A blend of Urdu and Hindi is known as "Hindustani". It is perhaps the lingua france of the north of the Indian subcontient, though it is understand widely in other regions as well. Blending Urdu, Sanskritized and regional Hindi into a common vernacular, Hindustani is the preferred medium of language over highly arabized Urdu or highly Sanskritized Hindi.
This can be seen in the popular culture of Bollywood or, more simply, the vernacular of Pakistanis and Indians, which, while utilizing a good deal of Hindi verbiage, is interpersed with large amounts of Urdu. Minor subtleties in region will also affect the 'brand' of Hindustani, sometimes pushing the Hindustani closer towards Urdu or towards Hindi. One might reasonably assume that the language spoken in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (the putative birthplace of Urdu in regal Mughal times) and Benares (a holy city for Hindus) is somewhat different. A humorous way of putting it would be that the Lucknow lehezaa (accent in Urdu)is of a different shade than the Benares ucchaaran (accent in Hindi).
Hindustani is the third most extensively understood language in the world after English and Mandarin. According to a recent Science magazine article, it is going to surpass English in the next 20 years, becoming the second most understood language in the world.
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