Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in India and Pakistan, with over 100 million speakers worldwide. It has Persian influence, Arabic and Persian loanwords, and four recognized dialects. Urdu is associated with Muslim speakers and has a large body of literature, including poetry and Islamic literature. Although linguists consider Urdu and Hindi to be two registers of one language, there is a great deal of nationalism in which register is spoken.
Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language spoken mainly in India and Pakistan. It is one of the two standardized registers of Hindustani, distinct from the other, Hindi, primarily in its writing system. While Hindi is written in the Devanāgarī script, which is also used to write the ancient Indian language Sanskrit, Urdu is written in an alphabet based on the Islamic Nasta’liq script. The vocabulary and phonetics also show more Persian influence than Hindi.
The national language of Pakistan, Urdu is also one of the official languages of India. It boasts over 100 million speakers worldwide. The language is associated with Muslim speakers and, in its standard form, includes many Arabic and Persian loanwords.
There are four recognized dialects: Dakhini, Pinjari, Rekhta and Modern Vernacular Urdu. Dakhini is spoken in South India and contains fewer Arabic and Persian loanwords than other dialects. Rekhta, on the other hand, has the most Persian influence and is typically used for Urdu poetry.
Urdu developed under Persian influence in the Indian subcontinent during the 13th century. It has been a minority language for much of its history, although it began to rival Persian as a language of literature and the elite in the last era of Islamic rule in India. In 13, Urdu became the official language of Pakistan and gained a much larger following. Today it is the majority language in Pakistan and some Indian states.
There is a large body of literature in Urdu, especially various forms of poetry, many of a religious nature. It also boasts the third largest body of Islamic literature, after Arabic and Persian. Secular tales are another well-developed form in Urdu literature.
Although linguists consider Urdu and Hindi to be two registers of one language, speakers often disagree. The two registers are usually mutually intelligible, but there is a great deal of nationalism in which register is spoken. Language is not simply a register for its speakers, but a symbol of national, religious and sometimes political identity.
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