Hindi-Urdu

Hindi-Urdu
Name	Hindi-Urdu
Nativename	हिन्दी-उर्दू / ہندی-اردو
States	India, Pakistan
Region	South Asia
Ethnicity	Hindustani people
Speakers	L1: ~350 million
Date	2022
Speakers2	L2: ~500 million (total ~850 million)
Familycolor	Indo-European
Fam2	Indo-Iranian
Fam3	Indo-Aryan
Fam4	Central
Fam5	Western Hindi
Isoexception	dialect
Glotto	hind1270
Glottorefname	Hindustani
Lingua	59-AAF-qa to -qf
Mapcaption	Areas (dark green) where it is the majority language

Hindi-Urdu, also historically known as Hindustani, is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken in South Asia. It constitutes a pluricentric language with two standardized registers: Modern Standard Hindi and Modern Standard Urdu. As a lingua franca of the Indian subcontinent, it boasts one of the world's largest speech communities, with its vernacular form serving as the dominant language of the Hindi Belt in India and a widely understood language in Pakistan.

History and development

The language evolved from Shauraseni Prakrit through Apabhraṃśa, developing in the Delhi region during the Ghurid and subsequent Delhi Sultanate periods. A pivotal development occurred under the Mughal Empire, where the Khariboli dialect absorbed substantial vocabulary from Persian, Arabic, and Turkic via the Mughal courts, forming the basis of a common speech. This vernacular was later termed "Hindustani" by scholars during the British Raj, including John B. Gilchrist of Fort William College. The colonial period saw increasing linguistic differentiation, a process that accelerated after the Partition of India in 1947, leading to the separate official standardization of Hindi and Urdu by the governments of India and Pakistan, respectively.

Linguistic features

The language's core grammar and basic vocabulary are derived from Sanskrit and Prakrit, shared identically between its standard forms. The primary distinction lies in the higher-register vocabulary: Modern Standard Hindi draws extensively from Sanskrit for technical and formal terms, while Modern Standard Urdu incorporates loanwords from Persian and Arabic. Its phonology includes a series of retroflex consonants, and it features a verb system that indicates tense, aspect, mood, and honorific grades. The colloquial lingua franca, often called Hindustani, freely mixes these lexical sources and is the basis of much popular culture, including the dialogues of the Bollywood film industry.

Geographical distribution and speakers

It is the primary vernacular of the Hindi Belt in northern India, encompassing states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, and the National Capital Territory of Delhi. As a first or second language, it is understood by a vast majority of India's population. In Pakistan, Urdu is the national language and a lingua franca, widely spoken in urban centers like Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad. Significant diaspora communities exist in Nepal, Fiji, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, South Africa, Mauritius, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates.

Standard forms and registers

The two primary standardized registers are Modern Standard Hindi and Modern Standard Urdu. Hindi is regulated and promoted by government bodies like the Kendriya Hindi Sansthan and is the official language of the Government of India, alongside English. Urdu is overseen by the National Language Authority in Pakistan. Beyond these, numerous colloquial dialects exist, such as Dakhini, spoken in the Deccan region, and Bombay Hindi, prevalent in Mumbai. The language also exhibits significant diglossia, with a stark difference between formal, standardized speech and everyday vernacular usage.

Writing systems

The two standard forms employ different scripts, constituting a major sociolinguistic divide. Modern Standard Hindi is written in the Devanagari script, an abugida derived from the ancient Brahmi script. Modern Standard Urdu is written in a right-to-left Perso-Arabic script, specifically a variant of the Nastaʿlīq calligraphic style. The colloquial Hindustani is not commonly written but may be transcribed in either script depending on the context or the writer's background. Historically, the language was also written in scripts like Kaithi and Mahajani in certain regions.

Sociolinguistic status and politics

The language's status is deeply intertwined with the modern history of South Asia. In India, Hindi is championed by organizations like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh as part of nationalist discourse, while in Pakistan, Urdu serves as a symbol of national unity. The Hindi-Urdu controversy has been a point of political contention since the 19th century, notably involving figures like Syed Ahmed Khan and Madan Mohan Malaviya. The language remains a potent cultural unifier through Bollywood cinema, television, and popular music, transcending political boundaries, yet its standard forms are often mobilized for distinct religious and national identities.

Category:Indo-Aryan languages Category:Languages of India Category:Languages of Pakistan Category:Pluricentric languages