Hindustani language

Hindustani language
Name	Hindustani
Nativename	ہندوستانی • हिन्दुस्तानी
States	India, Pakistan, Fiji, Guyana, Suriname
Region	South Asia
Speakers	~250 million (L1), ~500 million (L2)
Familycolor	Indo-European
Fam2	Indo-Iranian
Fam3	Indo-Aryan
Fam4	Central Indo-Aryan
Fam5	Western Hindi
Iso2	hin/urd
Iso3	hin/urd
Glotto	hind1270
Glottorefname	Hindustani

Hindustani language is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken in the Indian subcontinent. It encompasses two standardized registers, Hindi and Urdu, which share a common grammar and core vocabulary but differ in their formal literary and script traditions. The language serves as a lingua franca across Northern India, Pakistan, and the Diaspora in nations like Fiji and Suriname.

History and development

The language evolved from Shauraseni Prakrit and Apabhraṃśa vernaculars in the region around Delhi. During the Delhi Sultanate and later the Mughal Empire, it absorbed substantial vocabulary from Persian, Turkish, and Arabic, leading to its classical form often called Khariboli. The colonial era under the British Raj saw increased standardization, with figures like John Gilchrist at Fort William College playing key roles. The Hindi-Urdu controversy in the 19th and early 20th centuries, influenced by movements like the Aligarh Movement and Arya Samaj, politically solidified the separation into distinct Hindi and Urdu literary traditions.

Geographical distribution

Hindustani is the primary vernacular across the Hindi Belt of Northern India, including states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and the National Capital Territory of Delhi. In Pakistan, it is widely understood and forms the basis of the national language, Urdu. Significant diaspora communities exist due to historical indentured labor, making it a major language in Fiji (where it is known as Fiji Hindi), Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. It also has a presence in Mauritius and South Africa.

Varieties and dialects

The two primary standardized varieties are Hindi, heavily Sanskritized and written in Devanagari, and Urdu, heavily Persianized and written in a Perso-Arabic script. Major vernacular dialects include Khariboli, the prestige dialect of the Delhi-Meerut region, and Awadhi spoken in central Uttar Pradesh. Other significant dialects are Braj Bhasha, Kannauji, and the Bihari languages continuum, while Dakhini is a southern variant spoken in regions like Hyderabad. Bombay Hindi and Hyderabadi Urdu represent notable urban sociolects.

Phonology and grammar

The language has a typical Indo-Aryan phonological system, featuring a series of retroflex stops and a contrast between aspirated and unaspirated plosives. Its grammar is relatively analytic, employing postpositions rather than prepositions and utilizing a SOV (Subject-Object-Verb) word order. Verbs are conjugated for aspect, mood, and honorifics, with a complex system of compound verbs. Notable grammatical features include ergative-absolutive alignment in certain past tenses and a distinction between direct and oblique cases in nouns.

Writing systems

The two primary writing systems are intrinsically linked to the standardized registers. Hindi is written in the Devanagari script, an Abugida derived from the ancient Brahmi script. Urdu is written in a right-to-left Perso-Arabic script, specifically a variant of the Nastaʿlīq calligraphic style. Historically, the Kaithi script was also used for administrative purposes in parts of the Hindi Belt. In the digital age, Transliteration between the two scripts is common, and the Romanization of both Hindi and Urdu is frequently used in informal communication, such as on social media platforms.

Status and cultural role

In India, Hindi, one of its registers, is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an official language of the Government of India, alongside English. In Pakistan, Urdu is the national language and a symbol of national identity. The language has an immense cultural output, being the primary vehicle for the Bollywood film industry, whose films are distributed globally. It is also the language of a rich literary tradition, from the poetry of Mir Taqi Mir and Mirza Ghalib to the works of Premchand and Harivansh Rai Bachchan. Its role as a common spoken link across South Asia remains unparalleled, bridging diverse linguistic communities from Kolkata to Karachi.

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