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Urdu

Urdu (, , ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken primarily in South Asia. It is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also an official Eighth Schedule language in India, the status and cultural heritage of which are recognised by the Constitution of India — alongside having official status in several Indian states (Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and both Telugu states).

AI overview

Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken in South Asia, where it serves as Pakistan's national language and lingua franca. It also holds official status in India at both the national level and in several individual states, with its cultural heritage recognized by the Indian Constitution.

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Key facts

Language.nation: Pakistan (national) India (scheduled) Jammu and Kashmir Ladakh Delhi (additional) Bihar (additional) Uttar Pradesh (additional) Jharkhand (additional) Andhra Pradesh (additional) Telangana (additional) West Bengal (additional)
Language.minority: South Africa (protected language)
Language.iso1: ur
Language.iso2: urd
Language.iso3: urd
Language.lingua: 59-AAF-q
Language.image: Urdu example.svg
Language.imagescale: 0.4
Language.imagecaption: Urdu written in the Nastaliq calligraphic hand
Language.image_class: skin-invert-image
Language.map: Urdu_official-language_areas.png
Language.mapcaption

Article

35 sections

Contents

Etymology
History
Origins
Other historical names
Colonial period
Post-Partition
Demographics and geographic distribution
Pakistan
India
Elsewhere
Cultural identity
Colonial India
Pakistan
Official status
Pakistan
India
Dialects
Code switching
Comparison with Modern Standard Hindi
Urdu speakers by country
Phonology
Consonants
Vowels
Vocabulary
Formality
Writing system
Romanisation
Other scripts used
See also
Notes
Footnotes
References
Sources
Further reading
External links

Urdu and Hindi are closely related. They share a common, predominantly Sanskrit- and Prakrit-derived, vocabulary base, phonology, syntax, and grammar, making them mutually intelligible during colloquial communication. The common base of the two languages is sometimes referred to as the Hindi–Urdu or Hindustani language, and Urdu has been described as a Persianised standard register of the Hindustani language. While formal Urdu draws literary, political, and technical vocabulary from Persian and Arabic, formal Hindi draws these aspects from Sanskrit; consequently, the two languages' mutual intelligibility effectively decreases as the level of formality increases.