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Urdu ( pronunciation (help·info), اردو, trans. Urdū, historically spelled Ordu) is a Central Indo-Aryan language[2][1] of the Indo-Iranian branch, belonging to the Indo-European family of languages. It is the official language of Pakistan and one of the 23 official languages of India . Its vocabulary developed under Persian, Arabic and Turkic influence on Khariboli. It began to take shape during the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire (15261858) in South Asia.[3]
Scholars independently categorize Urdu as a standardised register of Hindustani[4][5][6] termed the standard dialect Khariboli.[6] The grammatical description in this article concerns this standard Urdu. In general, the term "Urdu" can encompass dialects of Hindustani other than the standardised versions.The original language of the Mughals had been Turkish, but after their arrival in South Asia, they came to adopt Persian and later Urdu. The word Urdu is believed to be derived from the Turkish, word 'Ordu', which means army encampment. It was initially called Zaban-e-Ordu or language of the army and later just Urdu. It obtained its name from Urdu Bazar, i.e. encampment (Urdu in Turkish) market, the market near Red Fort in the walled city of Delhi.
Standard Urdu has approximately the twentieth largest population of native speakers, among all languages. It is one of 23 official languages of India and the national language of Pakistan and is well-spoken in both the countries.
Urdu is often contrasted with Hindi, another standardised form of Hindustani. The main differences between the two are that Standard Urdu is conventionally written in Nastaliq calligraphy style of the Perso-Arabic script and draws vocabulary more heavily from Persian and Arabic than Hindi, while Standard Hindi is conventionally written in Devanāgarī and draws vocabulary from Sanskrit comparative more heavily. Some linguists nonetheless consider Urdu and Hindi to be two standardized forms of the same language; however, others classify them separately due to sociolinguistic differences,
There are between 60 and 80 million native speakers of standard Urdu (Khari Boli). According to the SIL Ethnologue (1999 data), Hindi/Urdu is the fifth most spoken language in the world.[14] According to George Webers article Top Languages: The Worlds 10 Most Influential Languages in Language Today, Hindi/Urdu is the fourth most spoken language in the world, with 4.7 percent of the world's population, after Mandarin, English, and Spanish.[15]
Because of Urdu's similarity to Hindi, speakers of the two languages can usually understand one another, if both sides refrain from using specialized vocabulary. Indeed, linguists sometimes count them as being part of the same language diasystem. However, Urdu and Hindi are socio-politically different, and people who describe themselves as being speakers of Hindi would question being counted as native speakers of Urdu, and vice-versa. Due to interaction with other languages, Urdu became localised in the different parts of the world it is spoken in. As a result Urdu can now be distinguished into many dialects like dakhni(Deccan) of South-India and Khariboli of Delhi region. Similarly in recent years, the Urdu spoken in Pakistan has undergone some changes and incorporated more native Pakistani words thus allowing speakers of the language in Pakistan to distinguish themselves more easily.
In India, Urdu is spoken in places where there are large Muslim minorities or cities which were bases for Muslim Empires in the past. These include parts of Uttar Pradesh (namely Lucknow), Delhi, Bhopal, Hyderabad, Bangaluru, Kolkata, Mysore, Patna, Ajmer, and Ahmedabad.[16] Some Indian schools teach Urdu as a first language and have their own syllabus and exams. Indian madrasahs also teach Arabic as well as Urdu. India has more than 3,000 Urdu publications including 405 daily Urdu newspapers. Newspapers such as Sahara Urdu, Daily Salar, Hindustan Express, Daily Pasban, Siasat Daily, Munsif Daily and Inqilab are published and distributed in Bangaluru, Mysore, Hyderabad, and Mumbai (see List of newspapers in India).
In Pakistan, Urdu is spoken and understood by a majority of urban dwellers in such cities as Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Abbottabad, Faisalabad, Hyderabad, Peshawar, Quetta and Sargodha. It is used in all provinces of Pakistan despite the fact that the people from region-to-region may have different mother-tongues, due to the fact that it is the "base language." It is also taught as a compulsory subject up to higher secondary school in both English and Urdu medium school systems. This has produced millions of Urdu speakers from people whose mother tongue is one of the regional languages of Pakistan such as Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Balochi, Siraiki, and Brahui. It is absorbing many words from the regional languages of Pakistan. This variety of Urdu is now called Pakistani Urdu. This facet changes the basis of language censuses, i.e. An Urdu speaker is one who speaks Urdu, though he may be a native speaker of other indigenous languages. The regional languages are also being influenced by Urdu vocabulary. There are millions of Pakistanis whose mother tongue is not Urdu, but since they have studied in Urdu medium schools, they can read and write Urdu along with their native language. Most of the nearly five million Afghan refugees of different ethnic origins (such as Pathan, Tajik, Uzbek, Hazarvi, and Turkmen) who stayed in Pakistan for over twenty-five years have also become fluent in Urdu. With such a large number of people(s) speaking Urdu, the language has in recent years acquired a peculiar Pakistani flavour further distinguishing it from the Urdu spoken by native speakers and diversifying the language even further.
A great number of newspapers are published in Urdu in Pakistan, including the Daily Jang, Nawa-i-Waqt, Millat, among many others (see List of newspapers in Pakistan).
Outside South Asia, it is spoken by large numbers of migrant South Asian workers in the major urban centers of the Persian Gulf countries and Saudi Arabia. Urdu is also spoken by large numbers of immigrants and their children in the major urban centres of the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Germany, Norway and Australia.
Countries with large numbers of native Urdu speakers:
India (51,536,111 [2001], 5.1%)[17]
Pakistan (10,800,000 [1993], 7%)[18] (Only refers to Pakistanis with Urdu as native language , i.e people who do not additionally speak the provincial
and regional languages such as Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtun and Balochi- See Muhajir)
United Kingdom
Bangladesh (650,000, 0.4%)[19]
United Arab Emirates (600,000, 13%[citation needed])
Saudi Arabia (382,000, 1.5%)[20]
Nepal (375,000, 1.3%)
United States (350,000, 0.1%)
Afghanistan (320,000, 8%)
South Africa (170,000 South Asian Muslims, some of which may speak Urdu)[21]
Canada (156,415 [2006], 0.5%)[22]
Oman (90,000, 2.8%)
Bahrain (80,000, 11.3%[citation needed])
Mauritius (74,000, 5.6%)
Qatar (70,000, 8%)
Germany (50,000)
Norway (27,700 [2006])[23]
France (20,000)
Spain (18,000 [2004])[24]
Sweden (10,000 [2001])[25]
World Total: 60,503,578[26]
Scholars independently categorize Urdu as a standardised register of Hindustani[4][5][6] termed the standard dialect Khariboli.[6] The grammatical description in this article concerns this standard Urdu. In general, the term "Urdu" can encompass dialects of Hindustani other than the standardised versions.The original language of the Mughals had been Turkish, but after their arrival in South Asia, they came to adopt Persian and later Urdu. The word Urdu is believed to be derived from the Turkish, word 'Ordu', which means army encampment. It was initially called Zaban-e-Ordu or language of the army and later just Urdu. It obtained its name from Urdu Bazar, i.e. encampment (Urdu in Turkish) market, the market near Red Fort in the walled city of Delhi.
Standard Urdu has approximately the twentieth largest population of native speakers, among all languages. It is one of 23 official languages of India and the national language of Pakistan and is well-spoken in both the countries.
Urdu is often contrasted with Hindi, another standardised form of Hindustani. The main differences between the two are that Standard Urdu is conventionally written in Nastaliq calligraphy style of the Perso-Arabic script and draws vocabulary more heavily from Persian and Arabic than Hindi, while Standard Hindi is conventionally written in Devanāgarī and draws vocabulary from Sanskrit comparative more heavily. Some linguists nonetheless consider Urdu and Hindi to be two standardized forms of the same language; however, others classify them separately due to sociolinguistic differences,
There are between 60 and 80 million native speakers of standard Urdu (Khari Boli). According to the SIL Ethnologue (1999 data), Hindi/Urdu is the fifth most spoken language in the world.[14] According to George Webers article Top Languages: The Worlds 10 Most Influential Languages in Language Today, Hindi/Urdu is the fourth most spoken language in the world, with 4.7 percent of the world's population, after Mandarin, English, and Spanish.[15]
Because of Urdu's similarity to Hindi, speakers of the two languages can usually understand one another, if both sides refrain from using specialized vocabulary. Indeed, linguists sometimes count them as being part of the same language diasystem. However, Urdu and Hindi are socio-politically different, and people who describe themselves as being speakers of Hindi would question being counted as native speakers of Urdu, and vice-versa. Due to interaction with other languages, Urdu became localised in the different parts of the world it is spoken in. As a result Urdu can now be distinguished into many dialects like dakhni(Deccan) of South-India and Khariboli of Delhi region. Similarly in recent years, the Urdu spoken in Pakistan has undergone some changes and incorporated more native Pakistani words thus allowing speakers of the language in Pakistan to distinguish themselves more easily.
In India, Urdu is spoken in places where there are large Muslim minorities or cities which were bases for Muslim Empires in the past. These include parts of Uttar Pradesh (namely Lucknow), Delhi, Bhopal, Hyderabad, Bangaluru, Kolkata, Mysore, Patna, Ajmer, and Ahmedabad.[16] Some Indian schools teach Urdu as a first language and have their own syllabus and exams. Indian madrasahs also teach Arabic as well as Urdu. India has more than 3,000 Urdu publications including 405 daily Urdu newspapers. Newspapers such as Sahara Urdu, Daily Salar, Hindustan Express, Daily Pasban, Siasat Daily, Munsif Daily and Inqilab are published and distributed in Bangaluru, Mysore, Hyderabad, and Mumbai (see List of newspapers in India).
In Pakistan, Urdu is spoken and understood by a majority of urban dwellers in such cities as Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Abbottabad, Faisalabad, Hyderabad, Peshawar, Quetta and Sargodha. It is used in all provinces of Pakistan despite the fact that the people from region-to-region may have different mother-tongues, due to the fact that it is the "base language." It is also taught as a compulsory subject up to higher secondary school in both English and Urdu medium school systems. This has produced millions of Urdu speakers from people whose mother tongue is one of the regional languages of Pakistan such as Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Balochi, Siraiki, and Brahui. It is absorbing many words from the regional languages of Pakistan. This variety of Urdu is now called Pakistani Urdu. This facet changes the basis of language censuses, i.e. An Urdu speaker is one who speaks Urdu, though he may be a native speaker of other indigenous languages. The regional languages are also being influenced by Urdu vocabulary. There are millions of Pakistanis whose mother tongue is not Urdu, but since they have studied in Urdu medium schools, they can read and write Urdu along with their native language. Most of the nearly five million Afghan refugees of different ethnic origins (such as Pathan, Tajik, Uzbek, Hazarvi, and Turkmen) who stayed in Pakistan for over twenty-five years have also become fluent in Urdu. With such a large number of people(s) speaking Urdu, the language has in recent years acquired a peculiar Pakistani flavour further distinguishing it from the Urdu spoken by native speakers and diversifying the language even further.
A great number of newspapers are published in Urdu in Pakistan, including the Daily Jang, Nawa-i-Waqt, Millat, among many others (see List of newspapers in Pakistan).
Outside South Asia, it is spoken by large numbers of migrant South Asian workers in the major urban centers of the Persian Gulf countries and Saudi Arabia. Urdu is also spoken by large numbers of immigrants and their children in the major urban centres of the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Germany, Norway and Australia.
Countries with large numbers of native Urdu speakers:
India (51,536,111 [2001], 5.1%)[17]
Pakistan (10,800,000 [1993], 7%)[18] (Only refers to Pakistanis with Urdu as native language , i.e people who do not additionally speak the provincial
and regional languages such as Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtun and Balochi- See Muhajir)
United Kingdom
Bangladesh (650,000, 0.4%)[19]
United Arab Emirates (600,000, 13%[citation needed])
Saudi Arabia (382,000, 1.5%)[20]
Nepal (375,000, 1.3%)
United States (350,000, 0.1%)
Afghanistan (320,000, 8%)
South Africa (170,000 South Asian Muslims, some of which may speak Urdu)[21]
Canada (156,415 [2006], 0.5%)[22]
Oman (90,000, 2.8%)
Bahrain (80,000, 11.3%[citation needed])
Mauritius (74,000, 5.6%)
Qatar (70,000, 8%)
Germany (50,000)
Norway (27,700 [2006])[23]
France (20,000)
Spain (18,000 [2004])[24]
Sweden (10,000 [2001])[25]
World Total: 60,503,578[26]
in urdu 
