There are about 230 million Urdu speakers around the world˳ But really, who are they? What countries speak Urdu? Let’s find out!
Historically, Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language with a very gentle, polite, and soothing tone˳ Ridiculing someone, being sarcastic, or verbally insulting someone in Urdu is downright impossible as the language is very respectful˳
It was also first called as “Urdu” language by a poet called Ghulam Hamadani Mushafi in the late 18th century˳ The word Urdu is derived from the Turkish word Ordu meaning camp˳
Urdu Language
Urdu is the national language of Pakistan, and it shares the position of the official language with English˳ Urdu was adopted as the common language or the lingua franca between several languages and local dialects surrounding the area at that time˳
You may wonder – Urdu as the national language makes sense, but why English? In 1947, when Pakistan became its own country, separating from India, English became a de facto language˳ Maybe this happened because of the number of English words spoken and used in Pakistan˳
De facto means it is in effect though not formally recognized˳ In the constitution in 1973, English was mentioned as the co-official language spoken in Pakistan˳
The Urdu language is from an Indo-European family of languages, and it is actually from Indo Iranian branch and is connected to the Vedic Sanskrit language˳
History
Long ago, Urdu was called Zaban e Urdu which means the language of the camp˳ This was also around the same time it gained the name “Urdu” or Ordu˳ Generally, it was the Hindustani language or the language of Hindus˳ Urdu was a mutually intelligible language spoken in the Mughal period and Delhi sultanate˳ The language began to change once the Muslim population grew as Islamic influence grew in Hindustan˳
As Urdu developed, the literary part of it was created among the elite˳ Perhaps this is why it’s such a sophisticated language! Many Urdu vocabulary is from Indo-Aryan from the Indian dialect, Khariboli˳ The writing system was created and called Nastiliq with beautiful Persian calligraphy˳
For some time, Perso Arabic script was also used by Muslim and Hindu elites in the court and government offices for official documents˳ Eventually, the difference in how Hindus and Muslims write became a root reason for separation in the later years˳
What Countries Speak Urdu?
Since Urdu is spoken by such a large population of people worldwide, you may wonder what countries speak Urdu? The Indian subcontinent is home to many official languages and minority languages˳ Native Urdu speakers are mainly in Pakistan as the literary language and some in India as a second language˳
Hindi and Urdu languages are closely related with the same etymological roots˳ Both countries have the Urdu language down as their official language˳
India has a sizeable Muslim population˳ Delhi and Northern India have several states speaking Urdu, such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Jammu, and Kashmir˳ Some people also exist in South India but do not speak Urdu˳ Their neighbor, Nepal, has Urdu as their registered regional dialect˳
Standard Urdu is also spoken in Urdu communities such as the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America˳ The Muslim community in South Africa still speaks Urdu, and some immigrants living in Bangladesh talk to Urdu˳
Which Countries Write Urdu?
Not all counties that speak Urdu use the Urdu alphabet and Urdu script˳ Written Urdu has Persian and Arabic letters, and the hand is called Nastaliq˳ Many who talk to Urdu may enjoy Urdu poetry and Urdu newspapers˳ But may use other languages for their writing˳
As the language of Pakistan is Urdu, this Perso Arabic script is their writing system˳ Other countries may have Urdu as a minority language, and it is written in India˳ The languages Pashto, Kashmiri, and Punjabi are also written using the same script˳
Hindu Punjabis would use the Gurumukhi script˳ The other script used by Muslim Punjabis is the Shahmukhi script, and the name itself means “word of Shahs˳” Punjabi Muslims would use the Shahmukhi script for writing, similar to Urdu, which is the superset of the written Urdu language˳
Punjabi Muslims can read the Urdu script and the Shahmukhi script fluently as they are from the same Perso Arabic script˳
Learn the Urdu Language With Ling
Many languages are spoken in Pakistan˳ History tells us that Central Asia is filled with languages spoken with such diversity˳ From Russian to versions of Persian˳ In present-day Asia, the national identity of each country comes from its spoken language˳ Commonly spoken languages are the official state language˳ Though standard Hindi and Urdu are spoken in India, Urdu and not Hindi is the primary language of Pakistan˳
You can focus on learning a single language to grasp the different languages better˳ Depending on your mother tongue, you can try Urdu˳ If you know it, Hindi words are much the same as Urdu and can speed up your learning˳
Ling is a gamified language learning app with free lessons available on the go for speaking, writing, listening, and reading Urdu˳ Learning a new language can be very challenging˳ Having Ling as your partner and support can significantly improve your learning experience˳ It has pronunciations, examples, translations, and vocabulary that will greatly boost your ability to grasp the language˳
With the understanding that not all learners are the same, the lessons are very compact with a big impact! They are designed to help you learn at least one new thing daily! Choose Ling in your journey to learn Urdu and watch yourself speak like a pro in no time!
