| Revision as of 16:03, 4 April 2004 view sourceHenrygb (talk | contribs)12,381 editsm 1st table moved up to reduce overlap with second table on narrow screens← Previous edit | Revision as of 14:10, 14 April 2004 view source LordSimonofShropshire (talk | contribs)3,268 edits adding more... restructuring... correcting misstatement that Urdu and Hindi are like American and British English... that's why we have HindustaniNext edit → | ||
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| '''Urdu'''(اردو) is an ] which originated in the 13th century |
'''Urdu'''(اردو) is an ] which originated in the 13th century in ]. It was essentially the high-court language of the ]s and placed a large and extensive ]-] vocabulary on a native ] base of grammar, usages and vocabulary. The result was what has been termed one of the world's most beautiful languages, the "]" of ]. It is most widely spoken in ] and ]. | ||
| == Urdu script and relationship to Arabic== | |||
| ⚫ | Urdu is written in a derivative of the ] which is itself derivative of the ]. It is read from right to left. Urdu is similar in appearance and letters to ], ], and ]. Urdu differs in appearance from ] in that it used the more complex and beautiful ] script whereas ] tends to the more modern ]. 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 ], as Arabic uses the same alphabet but with fewer letters. There are efforts underway to develop more practical Urdu support on computers. | ||
| ⚫ | 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 system has emerged, but it is only properly understood by someone really knows how to speak either Urdu or ] (related language; discussion to follow below) and thus phoneticizing script can ultimately be a pointless affair. | ||
| Urdu is a ] among many people in north India, and is the national language of ]. 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 ] and one of the official languages of ]. | |||
| 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 ]) in mmore familiar settings. There is a considerable populace in India that is quite at home in Urdu, especially among the Muslim communities. However, spoken ] is full of Urdu, and most educated poets in the North, whether ], ] or ], have a thorough knowledge of Urdu. Due to its heavy use in vernacular in concurrence with ], 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 ], 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 ]. The ] (عزل)is a form of poetry that was used very extensively by many poets of the ], especially in ] culture. Urdu is certainly a unique language that gave birth to a new and highly-respected genre of poetry, the ] (نوحہ). | ||
| ⚫ | Some scholarly Islamic works, like the writings of ] were originally written in Urdu. | ||
| ⚫ | ==Common Phrases== | ||
| ⚫ | Hello = Assalaam O Alaikum (a common Muslim greeting)<BR> | ||
| ⚫ | Hello = Adaab (])<BR> | ||
| ⚫ | Good Bye = Khuda Haafiz (literally means God protect you)<BR> | ||
| ⚫ | yes = Haan(casual), ji(formal)<BR> | ||
| ⚫ | no = Nahi<BR> | ||
| ⚫ | please = Meherbani<BR> | ||
| ⚫ | thank you = Shukriya<BR> | ||
| ⚫ | It is nice to meet you = Aap se mil kar khushi hui<BR> | ||
| ⚫ | How are you? = Aapka Kya hal hey?<BR> | ||
| ⚫ | Do you speak English? = Kya aap angrezi boltay heyn?<BR> | ||
| ⚫ | I do not speak Urdu. = Main Urdu naheen bolta.<BR> | ||
| ⚫ | My name is ... = Mera nam ... hai.<BR> | ||
| ⚫ | Which way to ] = ] kiss taraf heyh<BR> | ||
| == Hindustani== | |||
| ⚫ | Grammatically, Urdu and ] are considered ]s of a single language which differ mainly in ] where Urdu has borrowed from ] and ] and Hindi has borrowed from ]. | ||
| 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 ] 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 "]". It is perhaps the lingua france of the north of the ], 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 ] 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 ], ] (the putative birthplace of Urdu in regal Mughal times) and ] (a holy city for ]s) 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 ] and ]. 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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| </td></tr></table> | </td></tr></table> | ||
| ⚫ | Grammatically, Urdu and ] are considered ]s of a single language which differ mainly in ] where Urdu has borrowed from ] and ] and Hindi has borrowed from ]. |
||
| ⚫ | Urdu is written in a derivative of the ] which is itself derivative of the ]. It is read from right to left. Urdu is similar in appearance and letters to ], ], and ]. Urdu differs in appearance from ] in that it used the more complex and beautiful ] script whereas ] tends to the more modern ]. 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 ], as Arabic uses the same alphabet but with fewer letters. There are efforts underway to develop more practical Urdu support on computers. |
||
| Urdu is a ] among many people in that region, but it is not necessarily everyone's first language. | |||
| Only 8% of Pakistanis speak Urdu as their primary language, but nearly everyone in the country can understand spoken Urdu. As a result, Urdu is used as a more formal language while people use their various mother tongues (such as ]) in casual speech. | |||
| ⚫ | 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. |
||
| ⚫ | Some scholarly Islamic works, like the writings of ] were originally written in Urdu. | ||
| ⚫ | Urdu is |
||
| ⚫ | ==Common Phrases== | ||
| ⚫ | Hello = Assalaam O Alaikum (a common Muslim greeting)<BR> | ||
| ⚫ | Hello = Adaab (])<BR> | ||
| ⚫ | Good Bye = Khuda Haafiz (literally means God protect you)<BR> | ||
| ⚫ | yes = Haan(casual), ji(formal)<BR> | ||
| ⚫ | no = Nahi<BR> | ||
| ⚫ | please = Meherbani<BR> | ||
| ⚫ | thank you = Shukriya<BR> | ||
| ⚫ | It is nice to meet you = Aap se mil kar khushi hui<BR> | ||
| ⚫ | How are you? = Aapka Kya hal hey?<BR> | ||
| ⚫ | Do you speak English? = Kya aap angrezi boltay heyn?<BR> | ||
| ⚫ | I do not speak Urdu. = Main Urdu naheen bolta.<BR> | ||
| ⚫ | My name is ... = Mera nam ... hai.<BR> | ||
| ⚫ | Which way to ] = ] kiss taraf heyh<BR> | ||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
Revision as of 14:10, 14 April 2004
| 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" of India. It is most widely spoken in Pakistan and India.
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 used the more complex and beautiful 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.
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 system has emerged, but it is only properly understood by someone really knows how to speak either Urdu or Hindi (related language; discussion to follow below) and thus phoneticizing script can ultimately be a pointless affair.
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 mmore 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. Urdu is certainly a unique language that 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.
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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