hello, some members have either had interest in learning the urdu language script ( nastaliq ) or they wished that they could read some of the urdu script jokes in the "stupid and funny" thread or events in pakistan that cannot be put through google-translate because the items are posted as images, and of course there are some non-desi members who wish to learn urdu language itself to some extent... myself, i didn't learn urdu script because i didn't like the maulana who came to my house to teach me and my brothers years ago... i dropped out after the first lesson... though i speak for urdu script ( nastaliq ) to be abolished and urdu be written in roman script, i too for the moment want to learn urdu script because there are some good intellectual works of the old times, like the book of poems of faiz ( indian socialist urdu poet and coup arranger in post-1947 pakistan ) that i have and want to read it in the original script though the book has english translations for each poem.
the impetus to start this thread comes from discussion with
@rubyjackass in a thread started by the chinese member,
@Development C&P ... after much dilly-dallying i begin this thread, especially because rubyjackass demanded a hour back as to where is this promised thread.
all are welcome to participate - learning and teaching... i hope as we progress we can also learn more urdu words ( not just the script but some more of the language too ).
the below section i copy from rubyjackass' post in the other thread...
The intent of this thread is to learn Nastaliq script collaboratively to the point of reading(and optionally writing in it) comfortably. Our target test case will be to be able to read this news paper: Jang
Please note that reading(or writing) and understanding are two different things. For example most Urdu reading Indians can read Quran but cannot understand it. Hindi reading Indians can read Sanskrit but cannot understand it. Here we are focussed on only reading and writing the script. Since the test case is Urdu, Hindi speakers can understand it as well.
First some familiar basics. Nastaliq is a Persian word and the script is used for at least Urdu, Persian and Arabic. The script is written from right to left unlike any other script I know. I am choosing to learn Persian as script base for the following reasons:
1. One more new language to learn. Urdu vocabulary is basically Hindi
2. There are enough words I could understand so I won't feel like learning Arabic(or Greek or Latin)
3. From what I understand Arabic has more number of missing sounds and hence the danger of missing alphabets
4. Arabic is supposedly lazy vowelled language which means beginners will go crazy learning it. You wouldn't know the correct pronunciation just by looking at letters.
My assumptions will be obviously wrong. Some learned Urdu/Persian/Arabic people can always correct us in this thread.
BTW Urdu has more letters than Persian, but the deviations are few and we will note them when we study each related Persian letter.
Starting with Alef. The word Alphabet, the Arabic Alefabd both derive from the first two letters of alphabets. Obviously Alef is the first letter.
Persian/Lesson 1 - Wikibooks, open books for an open world
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?? Wait for Urdu to use the Romanscript (whenever that will be).
).
