Urdu is part of the Indo-Aryan group, which is a subgroup of Indo-Iranian languages. The language itself is a hybrid of Turkish, Persian, Pashto, Arabic, Sanskrit, and Hindi. The biggest influences come from the Turkish and Persian languages, followed by Arabic and Sanskrit. Urdu is very similar to Hindi (commonly known as Hindi). Hindi is more heavily influenced by Sanskrit compared to Urdu, but Urdu and Hindi speakers can easily communicate with little effort.

Urdu is pronounced “Or doo”, which means Army or Hordes; This language was created in the Indo-Pak subcontinent around 1000 years ago, when soldiers who spoke different languages ​​such as Turkish, Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, Hindi and other local languages ​​fought together in armies of the rulers of India during those times. . This is the time when Aryan invaders from central Asia arrived and conquered large territories of India. These were the Mughal rulers who came with the Turkish cavalry through Afghanistan and into India; recruiting soldiers from the areas they passed through. Since then, so many languages ​​were spoken within this army that a new language developed. With its roots in army barracks, it came to be known as Urdu. The first Mughal ruler was Zaheeruddin Baber and when he attacked India, the Ottomans sent him ten thousand Turkish knights. Baber’s army was predominantly Persian-speaking, with a large group of Pashtun speakers mixing with the Turkish-speaking cavalry before attacking India. Over the years, Urdu evolved in the barracks of these soldiers and eventually discovered that it was spoken in most of the Moghul Empire, especially by Muslims and finally in the Moghul courts, where Persian was spoken.

Urdu is very similar to Hindi and the grammar is almost exactly the same. Urdu uses the Persian script with some additions to suit the phonetics of the local languages. The writing is also known as the Nastaliq style, which is actually Perso-Arabic writing. It is written from right to left, unlike Roman writing, which is written from left to right.

More than 100 million people speak Urdu as their first or second language. Urdu is the national language of Pakistan and one of the 23 official languages ​​of India. The official language of Pakistan is English, but Urdu is officially used by law enforcement agencies and local governments as well. It is also widely spoken in parts of Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Urdu speakers are also found in Europe, the United States, and the Middle East. It spread in these regions as people migrated to these parts in search of work.

Urdu has four main dialects: Pinjari (Pin Ja ree), Rekhta (Ray kha ta), Deccani (Duck nee), and Khairboli (Khai Boalee). Pinjari, Deccani and Rekhta have almost disappeared, but most likely they have merged with the modern accent that is Khairboli. Rekhta had the greatest Persian influence, followed by Khairboli and Deccani. Rekhta is the language of Urdu poetry and is therefore considered a dialect. Khairboli is modern vernacular Urdu and is spoken in Karachi, Delhi, and Lucknow. Pinjari and Deccani that were spoken in the Hyderabad and Anderpardesh regions of India have all but disappeared.

The modern dialect is modern vernacular Urdu. People who speak this language are also known as Ahal-e-zuban, (people of the language or language). People who have Urdu as their first language are known as Urdu speakers in most of Pakistan. People who actually speak Urdu as their second language have a very different accent, especially people from the Punjab and Pashto speaking regions. The accent in the Punjab regions is influenced by the Punjabi language and many words in Punjab form the common vocabulary of Urdu in these regions. Pashtun speakers have a very neutral accent and are very clear; however, most Pashto speakers who speak Urdu often confuse gender in the language. There is also considerable English influence on Urdu in Pakistan and India. Words like import, export, genuine (pronounced gen yun when used in Urdu), kitchen, glass, chicken, table, latrine, and many more words are used as part of modern Urdu.

Urdu received its name in 1751, when a very famous writer Saraj-uddin Aarzoo referred to this language as Urdu. The first book in Urdu is called “Woh Majlis” (means that gathering of literary activity) in 1728 and the first Urdu poet was Ameer Khusro (1253-1325 AD)