Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu) हिन्दुस्तानी, ہندوستانی Hindustani
Spoken in:	India, Pakistan, Fiji, Guyana, Malaysia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago
Region:	South Asia, Oceania, Caribbean
Total speakers:	541 million native, 904 million total[citation needed]
Language family:	Indo-European  Indo-Iranian   Indo-Aryan[1]    Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu)
Writing system:	Devanagari script, Perso-Arabic script  Indian (1996) is a Tamil film directed by S. Shankar. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1384x1337, 117 KB) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Map of South Asia (see note on Kashmir). ... For other uses, see Oceania (disambiguation). ... West Indies redirects here. ... A language family is a group of languages related by descent from a common proto-language. ... For other uses, see Indo-European. ... The Indo-Iranian language group constitutes the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European family of languages. ... The Indo-Aryan languages form a subgroup of the Indo-Iranian languages, which belong to the Indo-European family of languages. ... Writing systems of the world today. ... च् + छ = च्छ Devanagari in Unicode The Unicode range for Devanagari is U+0900 . ... The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing the Arabic language, which is the language of the Quran, the holy book of Islam. ...
Official status
Official language in:	Fiji,  India (as Hindi and Urdu),  Pakistan (as Urdu)
Regulated by:	no official regulation
Language codes
ISO 639-1:	hi,ur
ISO 639-2:	hin,urd
ISO 639-3:	variously: hin — Hindi urd — Urdu hif — Fijian Hindustani hns — Caribbean Hindustani
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Hindustani (/ hɪn̪d̪ʊst̪aːniː /; Hindustānī; हिन्दुस्तानी, ہندوستانی), also known as "Hindi-Urdu," is a term used by linguists to describe several closely related idioms in the northern, central and northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent and the vernacular blend between its two standardized registers in the form of the official languages of Hindi and Urdu, as well as several nonstandard dialects. These two standardized languages of Hindustani are nearly identical in grammar and share a basic common vocabulary. In fact, before the Partition of British India, the terms Hindustani and Urdu were synonymous.^[2] Image File history File links Flag_of_Fiji. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_India. ... Hindi (DevanāgarÄ«: or , IAST: , IPA:  ), an Indo-European language spoken all over India in varying degrees and extensively in northern and central India, is one of the 22 official languages of India and is also used for central government administrative purposes , along with English. ... Urdu ( , , trans. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Urdu ( , , trans. ... ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family. ... ISO 639-2 is the second part of the ISO 639 standard, which lists codes for the representation of the names of languages. ... ISO 639-3 is an international standard for language codes. ... Hindi (DevanāgarÄ«: or , IAST: , IPA:  ), an Indo-European language spoken all over India in varying degrees and extensively in northern and central India, is one of the 22 official languages of India and is also used for central government administrative purposes , along with English. ... Urdu ( , , trans. ... Image File history File links Example. ... The Brahmic family is a family of abugidas (writing systems) used in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Tibet, Mongolia, Manchuria, descended from the BrāhmÄ« script of Mauryan India. ... Map of South Asia (see note) This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia. ... A standard language (also standard dialect or standardized dialect) is a particular variety of a language that has been given either legal or quasi-legal status. ... In linguistics, a register is a subset of a language used for a particular purpose or in a particular social setting. ... Hindi (DevanāgarÄ«: or , IAST: , IPA:  ), an Indo-European language spoken all over India in varying degrees and extensively in northern and central India, is one of the 22 official languages of India and is also used for central government administrative purposes , along with English. ... The phrase Zaban-e Urdu-e Mualla written in Urdu Urdu () is an Indo-European language of the Indo-Aryan family that developed under Persian, Turkish, Arabic, Hindi, and Sanskrit influence in South Asia during the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire (1200-1800). ... A nonstandard dialect of a language is a dialect of a language that does not have the institutional support or sanction that a standardized dialect has. ... This article is under construction. ...

[edit] History of the name

The phrase Zaban-e Urdu-e Mualla written in the Perso-Arabic script

Originally the term Hindustani ("of the land of the Indus River") was the name given by the Turco-Persian Mughal conquerors of India to Khariboli, the local form of Hindi at their capital, Delhi, and nearby cities. As a contact language between the two cultures, Hindustani absorbed large numbers of Persian, Arabic, and Turkic words, and with further Mughal conquest it spread as a lingua franca across northern India. It remained the primary lingua franca of India for the next four centuries, although it varied significantly in vocabulary depending on the local language, and it achieved the status of a literary language, along with Persian, in the Muslim courts. In time it came to be called Urdu (zabān-e Urdu زبان اردو‎, ज़बान-ए उर्दू, "language of the camp" in Persian, derived from Altaic Ordū "camp"), and as the highly Persianized court language, Rekhta, or "mixed". Image File history File links Zaban_urdu_mualla. ... Image File history File links Zaban_urdu_mualla. ... The Turco-Persians were an originally nomadic ethnic group that eventually conquered most of central, western, and south Asia in the 15th and 16th centuries. ... Flag Capital Delhi / Agra Language(s) Persian (initially also Chagatai, Turkish; later also Urdu) Government Monarchy Emperor  - 1526-1530 Babur  - 1530–1539 and after restoration 1555–1556 Humayun  - 1556–1605 Akbar  - 1605–1627 Jahangir  - 1628–1658 Shah Jahan  - 1659–1707 Aurangzeb History  - Established April 21, 1526  - Ended September 21, 1857... Khariboli (also Khadiboli, Khadi-Boli, or Khari dialect), (/ /; Hindi: खड़ी बोली; Urdu: كهڑى بولى, khaṛī bolÄ«; lit. ... Hindi (DevanāgarÄ«: or , IAST: , IPA:  ), an Indo-European language spoken all over India in varying degrees and extensively in northern and central India, is one of the 22 official languages of India and is also used for central government administrative purposes , along with English. ... For other uses, see Delhi (disambiguation). ... Lingua franca, literally Frankish language in Italian, was originally a mixed language consisting largely of Italian plus a vocabulary drawn from Turkish, Persian, French, Greek and Arabic and used for communication throughout the Middle East. ... Lingua franca, literally Frankish language in Italian, was originally a mixed language consisting largely of Italian plus a vocabulary drawn from Turkish, Persian, French, Greek and Arabic and used for communication throughout the Middle East. ... Altaic is a proposed language family that includes 66 languages [1] spoken by about 348 million people, mostly in and around Central Asia and northeast Asia. ... Rekhta is the highly Persianized form of Urdu, a language that combines Arabic, Persian, and Hindi. ...

When the British conquered India from the late 1700s throughout the late 1800s, they used the words 'Hindustani' and 'Urdu' interchangeably. They developed it as the language of administration of British India, further preparing it to be the official language of modern India and Pakistan. Anthem God Save The Queen/King British India, circa 1860 Capital Calcutta (1858-1912), New Delhi (1912-1947) Language(s) Hindi, Urdu, English and many others Government Monarchy Emperor of India  - 1877-1901 Victoria  - 1901-1910 Edward VII  - 1910-1936 George V  - January-December 1936 Edward VIII  - 1936-1947 George...

With the partition of India in 1947, the new states of Pakistan and India chose Persianized and Sanskritized registers of Hindustani as their national languages. These they called "Urdu" and "Hindi" respectively. Since this time, the term "Urdu" has ceased to mean the lingua franca, although nonstandard Hindustani dialects are often still considered dialects of Urdu. This article is under construction. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... In linguistics, a register is a subset of a language used for a particular purpose or in a particular social setting. ...

The term has had a complex history, holding different meanings to different people. For example, in recent times, the word has been used for the intentionally neutral language of Bollywood film, which is popular in both India and Pakistan. Bollywood (Hindi: , Urdu: ) is the informal name given to the popular Mumbai-based Hindi-language film industry in India. ...

[edit] Urdu

Main article: Urdu

Urdu is the national language of Pakistan and an officially recognized regional language of India. It is also an official language in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, National Capital Territory of Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh. The word "Urdu" derives from the more formal Persian phrase zabān-e Urdu-e mo'alla, meaning the "language of the camp". (The word Urdu has the same root as the English word "horde", a word that owes its existence to the armies of the Mongol ancestors of the Mughals.) The language began as the common speech of soldiers serving Mughal lords. The term became transferred to the court language of the Mughal aristocracy, whose dialect was based on the upper-class dialect of Delhi. Urdu's historical development was centered on the Urdu poets of the Mughal courts of north Indian metropolises such as Delhi, Lucknow, Lahore, and Agra. Urdu is written using a modified form of the Arabic script known as the Nasta'liq script. Before the Partition of India, the terms Hindustani and Urdu were synonymous.^[3] Urdu ( , , trans. ... “Andhra” redirects here. ... This article is about the area administered by India. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Delhi. ... , Uttar Pradesh (Hindi: , Urdu: , IPA:  , translation: Northern Province), [often referred to as U.P.], located in central-south Asia and northern India, is the most populous and fifth largest state in the Republic of India. ... Farsi redirects here. ... The Mughal Empire (alternative spelling Mogul, which is the origin of the word Mogul) of India was founded by Babur in 1526, when he defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last of the Delhi Sultans at the First Battle of Panipat. ... For other uses, see Delhi (disambiguation). ... , Lucknow ( , Hindi: लखनऊ, Urdu: لکھنؤ, ) is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state of India. ...   (Urdu: لاہور, Punjabi: لہور, pronounced ) is the capital of the province of Punjab and is the second largest city in Pakistan after Karachi. ... For other uses, see Agra (disambiguation). ... The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing the Arabic language, which is the language of the Quran, the holy book of Islam. ... Chalipa panel, Mir Emad. ... This article is under construction. ...

[edit] Hindi

Rigveda manuscript in Devanagari (early 19th century)

Main article: Hindi

Standard Hindi, the official language of India, is based on the Khariboli dialect of the Delhi region and differs from Urdu in that it is usually written in the indigenous Devanagari script of India and exhibits less Persian influence than Urdu. Many scholars today employ a Sanskritized form of Hindi developed primarily in Varanasi, the Hindu holy city, which is based on the Eastern Hindi dialect of that region. Download high resolution version (1161x1125, 419 KB)Rigveda MS in Sanskrit on paper, India, early 19th c. ... Download high resolution version (1161x1125, 419 KB)Rigveda MS in Sanskrit on paper, India, early 19th c. ... Rig veda is the oldest text in the world. ... Hindi (DevanāgarÄ«: or , IAST: , IPA:  ), an Indo-European language spoken all over India in varying degrees and extensively in northern and central India, is one of the 22 official languages of India and is also used for central government administrative purposes , along with English. ... Khariboli (also Khadiboli, Khadi-Boli, or Khari dialect), (/ /; Hindi: खड़ी बोली; Urdu: كهڑى بولى, khaṛī bolÄ«; lit. ... Rigveda manuscript in Devanagari (early 19th century) DevanāgarÄ« (देवनागरी — in English pronounced ) (ISCII – IS13194:1991) [1] is an abugida alphabet used to write several Indian languages, including Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Kashmiri, Sindhi, Bihari, Bhili, Konkani, Bhojpuri and Nepali from Nepal. ... , VārāasÄ« ( , Hindi: , IPA: ), also known as Benares, Banaras, or Benaras ( , Hindi: , , IPA: ), or Kashi or Kasi ( , Hindi: , ), is a famous Hindu holy city situated on the banks of the river Ganges (Ganga) in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ... Bhavna says there are 300 million gods in Hinduism. ...

Note that, the term "Hindustani" has generally fallen out of common usage in modern India, except to refer to a style of Indian classical music prevalent in northern India. The term used to refer to the language is "Hindi", regardless of the mix of Persian or Sanskrit words used by the speaker. One could conceive of a wide spectrum of dialects, with the highly Persianized Urdu at one end of the spectrum and a heavily Sanskrit based dialect, spoken in the region around Varanasi, at the other end of the spectrum. In common usage in India, the term "Hindi" includes all dialects, except the Urdu end of the spectrum. Thus, the different meanings of the word "Hindi" include, among others: Hindustani Classical Music is an Indian classical music tradition that took shape in northern India in the 13th and 14th centuries AD from existing religious, folk, and theatrical performance practices. ... Sanskrit ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... , Vārāasī ( , Hindi: , IPA: ), also known as Benares, Banaras, or Benaras ( , Hindi: , , IPA: ), or Kashi or Kasi ( , Hindi: , ), is a famous Hindu holy city situated on the banks of the river Ganges (Ganga) in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ...

1. standardized Hindi as taught in schools throughout India,
2. formal or official Hindi advocated by Purushottam Das Tandon and as instituted by the post-independence Indian government, heavily influenced by Sanskrit,
3. the vernacular dialects of Hindustani/Hindi-Urdu as spoken throughout India,
4. the neutralized form of the language used in popular television and films, or
5. the more formal neutralized form of the language used in broadcast and print news reports.

The term "Hindustani" is now used in India to deliberately convey the language of unified pre-1947 India, with a wealth of words of both Persian and Sanskrit origin, without an attempt at leaning towards either as has taken place with Urdu and Hindi. The term has a secular flavour; the speaker is rising above Hindu/Muslim visions of India. Purushottam Das Tandon (August 1, 1882 – July 1, 1962), was a freedom fighter, social reformer and national political leader of India. ...

[edit] Bazaar Hindustani

In a specific sense, "Hindustani" may be used to refer to the dialects and varieties used in common speech, in contrast with the standardized Hindi and Urdu. This meaning is reflected in the use of the term "bazaar Hindustani," in other words, the "language of the street or the marketplace", as opposed to the perceived refinement of formal Hindi, Urdu, or even Sanskrit. Thus, the Webster's New World Dictionary defines the term Hindustani as the principal dialect of Hindi/Urdu, used as a trade language throughout north India and Pakistan. The Grand Timcheh of Qoms Bazaar. ... Sanskrit ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ...

[edit] Variants of Hindustani

Hindustani has four commonly named varieties:

• Hindi (High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, Literary Hindi, Standard Hindi);
• Urdu (Standard Urdu);
• Dakhani (literally, "southern"), a less Persianized dialect of Urdu spoken in the region of Hyderabad (India);
• Rekhta, the highly Persianized variety of Urdu spoken in the Mughul court, and used for poetry.

Hindi (DevanāgarÄ«: or , IAST: , IPA:  ), an Indo-European language spoken all over India in varying degrees and extensively in northern and central India, is one of the 22 official languages of India and is also used for central government administrative purposes , along with English. ... Urdu ( , , trans. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Dakkhini language. ... Hyderabad   or Haydarābād // ( Urdu:حیدر آباد), (Telugu:హైదరాబాదు) is the capital city of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. ... Rekhta is the highly Persianized form of Urdu, a language that combines Arabic, Persian, and Hindi. ...

[edit] Hindi and Urdu: sister tongues

While, at the spoken level, Urdu and Hindi are considered dialects of a single language (or diasystem), they differ vastly in literary and formal vocabulary; where literary Urdu draws heavily on Persian and Arabic, literary Hindi draws heavily on Sanskrit, Persian and to a lesser extent Prakrit. The grammar and base vocabulary (most pronouns, verbs, adpositions, etc.) of both Urdu and Hindi, however, are the same and derive from a Prakritic base. Urdu ( , , trans. ... Hindi (DevanāgarÄ«: or , IAST: , IPA:  ), an Indo-European language spoken all over India in varying degrees and extensively in northern and central India, is one of the 22 official languages of India and is also used for central government administrative purposes , along with English. ... For dialects of programming languages, see Programming language dialect. ... In linguistics, a diasystem is a term used in structural dialectology, to refer to a single genetic language which has two or more standard forms. ... A vocabulary is a set of words known to a person or other entity, or that are part of a specific language. ... Farsi redirects here. ... Arabic redirects here. ... Sanskrit ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... Farsi redirects here. ... Prakrit (also spelt Pracrit) (Sanskrit: , original, natural, artless, normal, ordinary, usual, i. ...

The associated dialects of Urdu and Hindi are known as "Hindustani". It is perhaps the lingua franca of the west and north of the Indian subcontinent, though it is understood fairly well in other regions also, especially in the urban areas. A common vernacular sharing characteristics with Urdu, Sanskritized Hindi, and regional Hindi, Hindustani is more commonly used as a vernacular than highly Arabicized/Persianized Urdu or highly Sanskritized Hindi. Lingua franca, literally Frankish language in Italian, was originally a mixed language consisting largely of Italian plus a vocabulary drawn from Turkish, Persian, French, Greek and Arabic and used for communication throughout the Middle East. ... Map of South Asia (see note) This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia. ...

This can be seen in the popular culture of Bollywood or, more generally, the vernacular of Pakistanis and Indians which generally employs a lexicon common to both "Urdu" and "Hindi" speakers. Minor subtleties in region will also affect the 'brand' of Hindustani, sometimes pushing the Hindustani closer to Urdu or to Hindi. One might reasonably assume that the language spoken in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (known for its beautiful usage of Urdu) and Varanasi (a holy city for Hindus and thus using highly Sanskritized Hindi) is somewhat different. Bollywood (Hindi: , Urdu: ) is the informal name given to the popular Mumbai-based Hindi-language film industry in India. ... , Lucknow ( , Hindi: लखनऊ, Urdu: لکھنؤ, ) is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state of India. ... , Uttar Pradesh (Hindi: , Urdu: , IPA:  , translation: Northern Province), [often referred to as U.P.], located in central-south Asia and northern India, is the most populous and fifth largest state in the Republic of India. ... , VārāasÄ« ( , Hindi: , IPA: ), also known as Benares, Banaras, or Benaras ( , Hindi: , , IPA: ), or Kashi or Kasi ( , Hindi: , ), is a famous Hindu holy city situated on the banks of the river Ganges (Ganga) in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ... Bhavna says there are 300 million gods in Hinduism. ... Hindi (DevanāgarÄ«: or , IAST: , IPA:  ), an Indo-European language spoken all over India in varying degrees and extensively in northern and central India, is one of the 22 official languages of India and is also used for central government administrative purposes , along with English. ...

Hindustani, if both Hindi and Urdu are counted, is the third or second most widely spoken language in the world after Mandarin and possibly English.^[4] This article is on all of the Northern and Southwestern Chinese dialects. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

See also: Persian and Urdu

This does not cite its references or sources. ...

[edit] Official status

Hindustani, in its standardized registers, is the official language of both India (Hindi) and Pakistan (Urdu).

Hindi, one standardized register of Hindustani, is declared by the Constitution of India as the "official language (rājabhāshā) of the Union" (Art. 343(1)). At the state level, Hindi is the official language in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Delhi. Some of these states have designated a "co-official language" (usually Urdu). Similarly, Hindi is accorded the status of co-official language in several Indian states and union territories: Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Daman and Diu, Gujarat, Maharastra, and Punjab.^[5] The teaching of Hindi is compulsory in all Indian states and Union Territories except the states of Tamil Nadu, Tripura, and the Karaikal region of Pondicherry.^[6] cropped from PD image which image is that? RedWolf 01:51, Jan 11, 2005 (UTC) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... cropped from PD image which image is that? RedWolf 01:51, Jan 11, 2005 (UTC) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Hindi (DevanāgarÄ«: or , IAST: , IPA:  ), an Indo-European language spoken all over India in varying degrees and extensively in northern and central India, is one of the 22 official languages of India and is also used for central government administrative purposes , along with English. ... A standard language (also standard dialect or standardized dialect) is a particular variety of a language that has been given either legal or quasi-legal status. ... In linguistics, a register is a subset of a language used for a particular purpose or in a particular social setting. ... The Constitution of India lays down the framework on which Indian polity is run. ... India is divided into twenty-eight states and seven union territories (UTs). ... , Uttar Pradesh (Hindi: , Urdu: , IPA:  , translation: Northern Province), [often referred to as U.P.], located in central-south Asia and northern India, is the most populous and fifth largest state in the Republic of India. ... For other uses, see Bihar (disambiguation). ... , Jharkhand   (Hindi: झारखंड, Bengali: ঝাড়খণ্ড,IPA: ) is a state in eastern India. ... , Uttarakhand (Hindi: उत्तराखंड), known as Uttaranchal from 2000 to 2006, became the 27th state of the Republic of India on November 9, 2000. ... , Madhya Pradesh (abbreviated as MP)   (HindÄ«: मध्य प्रदेश, English: , IPA: ), often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. ... , Rājasthān (DevanāgarÄ«: राजस्थान, IPA: )   is the largest state of the Republic of India in terms of area. ... , Chhattisgarh (Chhattisgarhi/Hindi: छत्तीसगढ़, IPA: )  , a state in central India, formed when the sixteen Chhattisgarhi-speaking southeastern districts of Madhya Pradesh gained statehood on November 1, 2000. ... , Himachal Pradesh   (Panjabi: ਹਿਮਾਚਲ ਪਰਦੇਸ਼,(Hindi: हिमाचल प्रदेश, IPA: ) is a state in the north-west of India. ... For the town in Hoshiarpur district, see Hariana. ... For other uses, see Delhi (disambiguation). ... Urdu ( , , trans. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Andaman Islands. ... Daman and Diu (Portuguese: Gujarati is the main language; use of Portuguese is declining because it is not official or taught at school (but still spoken by 10% in Daman). ... This article is for the Indian state. ... Maharashtra (महाराष्ट्र) is a state in west-central India. ... , This article is about the Indian state of Punjab. ... Hindi (DevanāgarÄ«: or , IAST: , IPA:  ), an Indo-European language spoken all over India in varying degrees and extensively in northern and central India, is one of the 22 official languages of India and is also used for central government administrative purposes , along with English. ... India is divided into twenty-eight states and seven union territories (UTs). ... Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ... Tripura   (Bengali: ত্রিপুরা, Hindi: त्रिपुरा) is a state in North East India. ... Karaikal, also Karikal, is one of the four regions of the Union Territory of Pondicherry. ...

Urdu, the other standardized register of Hindustani, is the national language of Pakistan. It shares official language status with English. Although English is used in most elite circles, and Punjabi has a plurality of native speakers, Urdu is the lingua franca and is expected to prevail. Urdu is also one of the official languages of India, and in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, and Uttar Pradesh, Urdu has official language status. While the government school system in most other states emphasises Standard Hindi language, at universities in cities such as Lucknow, Aligarh and Hyderabad, Urdu is spoken and learned and is regarded as a language of prestige. A standard language (also standard dialect or standardized dialect) is a particular variety of a language that has been given either legal or quasi-legal status. ... In linguistics, a register is a subset of a language used for a particular purpose or in a particular social setting. ... An official language is a language that is given a unique legal status in the countries, states, and other territories. ... Punjabi (also Panjabi; in GurmukhÄ«, PanjābÄ« in ShāhmukhÄ«) is the language of the Punjab regions of India and Pakistan. ... Lingua franca, literally Frankish language in Italian, was originally a mixed language consisting largely of Italian plus a vocabulary drawn from Turkish, Persian, French, Greek and Arabic and used for communication throughout the Middle East. ... “Andhra” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Delhi (disambiguation). ... This article is about the area administered by India. ... , Uttar Pradesh (Hindi: , Urdu: , IPA:  , translation: Northern Province), [often referred to as U.P.], located in central-south Asia and northern India, is the most populous and fifth largest state in the Republic of India. ... Hindi (हिन्दी) is a language spoken mainly in North and Central India. ... , Lucknow ( , Hindi: लखनऊ, Urdu: لکھنؤ, ) is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state of India. ... , Aligarh   (Hindi: अलीगढ़, Urdu: علی Ú¯Ú‘Ú¾) is a city in Aligarh District in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ... Hyderabad   or Haydarābād // ( Urdu:حیدر آباد), (Telugu:హైదరాబాదు) is the capital city of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. ...

[edit] Hindustani outside South Asia

Besides being the lingua franca of South Asia, Hindustani is spoken among people of the South Asian diaspora and their descendants. Lingua franca, literally Frankish language in Italian, was originally a mixed language consisting largely of Italian plus a vocabulary drawn from Turkish, Persian, French, Greek and Arabic and used for communication throughout the Middle East. ... Map of South Asia (see note on Kashmir). ... Map of South Asia South Asia is a subregion of Asia comprising the modern states of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, . It covers about 4,480,000 km², or 10 percent of the continent, and is also known as the Indian subcontinent. ...

In Fiji, Hindustani has official status under Fiji's Constitution, along with Bau Fijian and English; citizens of Fiji have the constitutional right to communicate with any government agency in any of the official languages, with an interpreter to be supplied on request. Fijian Hindustani descends from one of the eastern forms of Hindustani, called Awadhi, as well as the Bhojpuri dialect. It has developed some unique features that differentiate it from the Avadhī spoken on the Indian subcontinent, although not to the extent of hindering mutual understanding. It is spoken by nearly the entire Indo-Fijian community, 38.1% of Fiji's entire population, regardless of ancestry. The word Hindustani is an adjective used to denote a connection to India, or, more precisely, the historical region that encompasses Northern India, Pakistan, and nearby areas. ... Background The Constitution of the Republic of the Fiji Islands dates from 1997. ... Fijian is an Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian family spoken in Fiji. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... See also: HindustānÄ« classical music. ... Awadhi is a dialect of Hindi, spoken in the Awadh (Oudh) region of Uttar Pradesh. ... Categories: Indo-Aryan languages | Languages of India | Language stubs ... Indo-Fijians are people born in Fiji, but are ethnically Indian. ...

Hindustani speakers have a significant number of speakers in Caribbean countries such as Suriname, Guyana, and Trinidad & Tobago. The formal name of the language spoken in this region is generally called Caribbean Hindustani, although the Caribbean countries may add an adjective in front of the language name (i.e. Sarnami Hindustani) even though most individuals commonly refer to it as just Hindustani. One major country in which Hindustani is spoken is Suriname. Sarnami Hindustani is the second most spoken language in Suriname after Dutch. This is due to the emigration of East Indians (known locally as Hindustanis in Suriname) from the Indian states of Bihār and Uttar Pradesh located in North India. The emigration was mainly of Bhojpuri speaking people which has led to the local Hindustani language having various Bhojpuri words and phrases from other Bihari languages. Ethnic Indians form 37% of the population in Suriname, the largest ethnic group there. Hence, Hindustani is spoken frequently in Suriname and Indian culture plays a major role there in general. Hindustani is also spoken among ethnic Indians of Guyana and is popular there as South Asians make up around 45% of Guyana's total population. For other uses of the word Trinidad, see Trinidad (disambiguation) Motto Together we aspire, together we achieve Anthem Forged From The Love of Liberty Capital Port of Spain Largest town Chaguanas [1] Official languages English Demonym Trinidadian, Tobagonian Government Republic  -  President George Maxwell Richards  -  Prime Minister Patrick Manning Independence  -  from... For other uses, see Bihar (disambiguation). ... , Uttar Pradesh (Hindi: , Urdu: , IPA:  , translation: Northern Province), [often referred to as U.P.], located in central-south Asia and northern India, is the most populous and fifth largest state in the Republic of India. ... Dark green region marks the approximate extent of northern India while the regions marked as light green lies within the sphere of north Indian influence. ... Categories: Indo-Aryan languages | Languages of India | Language stubs ... Categories: Indo-Aryan languages | Languages of India | Language stubs ... Bihari is a name given to the western group of Eastern Indic languages, spoken in Bihar and neighboring states in India. ...

Tadj-Uzbeki, a term coined by Tiwari, refers to the Hindustani dialect spoken by Indian immigrants from the 13th century onwards in the border region of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, specifically in the towns of Hisar, Shehr-e-nau, Regar, Surchi, etc. It is based on the Braj, Hariyani and Rajasthani dialects, and is highly influenced by Uzbek, Tajik and Russian languages. Tiwari is an Brahmin surname common in Northern and Central parts of India. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Location of Tursunzade in Tajikistan Tursunzade, also called Tursunzoda, is a city in western Tajikistan, known for its aluminium smelting plant. ... Braj, though never a clearly defined political region, is considered to be the land of Krishna and is derived from the Sanksrit word vraja. ... Hariyani language (हरियाणी) is a language spoken in the Indian state of Haryana. ... Rajasthani (राजस्थानी) is a language of the Indo-Aryan languages family. ... Tajik or Tadjik (тоҷикӣ, تاجیکی, tojikí) is a descendant of the Persian language spoken in Central Asia. ... Russian ( , transliteration: , IPA: ) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia and the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages. ...

Hindustani also has a significant number of speakers in North America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East due to immigration by the people of India and Pakistan to these continents and regions. In South Africa, Kenya and other parts of Africa, older descendents of 18th century sugar cane workers also speak a variety of Bhojpuri as their second language. North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ...

Also see: Fiji Hindi Indian Indentured labourers were initially brought to Fiji from many districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. ...

[edit] Vocabulary

Main article: Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu) word etymology Hindustānī also known as Hindi-Urdu, is a term used by linguists to describe several closely related idioms in the northern, central and northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. ...

Standard or shuddha ("pure") Hindi derives much of its formal and technical vocabulary from Sanskrit while standard Urdu derives much of its formal and technical vocabulary from Persian. Standard Hindi and Urdu are used only in public addresses and radio or TV news, while the everyday spoken language in most areas is one of several varieties of Hindustani, whose vocabulary contains words drawn from Persian and Arabic. In addition, spoken Hindustani includes words from English and other languages as well. Sanskrit ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... Farsi redirects here. ... Farsi redirects here. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

Vernacular Urdu and Hindi are practically indistinguishable. However, the literary registers differ substantially; in highly formal situations, the languages are barely intelligible to speakers of the other. It bears mention that in centuries past both Sanskrit and Persian have been regarded as the languages of the elite, even by those of differing ethnic and religious backgrounds. Urdu ( , , trans. ...

There are four principal categories of words in Hindustani:

• tatsam (तत्सम्/تتسم same as that) words: These are the words which have been directly lifted from Sanskrit to enrich the formal and technical vocabulary of Hindi. Such words (almost exclusively nouns) have been taken without any phonetic or spelling change. Among nouns, the tatsam word could be the Sanskrit uninflected word-stem, or it could be the nominative singular form in the Sanskrit nominal declension.
• tadbhav (तद्भव/تدبھو born of that) words: These are the words that might have been derived from Sanskrit or the Prakrits, but have undergone minor or major phonetic and spelling changes as they appear in modern Hindi. They also include words borrowed from the other languages.
• deshaja (देशज/دیشج local): words that are unrelated to any Sanskrit words, and of local origin.
• Loan words from non-Indian languages that include Arabic, Persian, Turkic, Portuguese or English.

Excessive use of tatsam words sometimes creates problems for most native speakers. The educated middle class population of India may be familiar with these words due to education, but less-educated persons or people of rural backgrounds lack familiarity with more formal registers. The issue also exists with high-register vocabulary borrowed from Persian and Arabic. Tatsama are Sanskrit loanwords in modern Indic languages like Bangla or Sinhala. ... Arabic redirects here. ... Farsi redirects here. ... The Turkic languages are a group of closely related languages that are spoken by a variety of people distributed across a vast area from Eastern Europe to Siberia and Western China. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Look up Persian in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Arabic can mean: From or related to Arabia From or related to the Arabs The Arabic language; see also Arabic grammar The Arabic alphabet, used for expressing the languages of Arabic, Persian, Malay ( Jawi), Kurdish, Panjabi, Pashto, Sindhi and Urdu, among others. ...

[edit] Writing system

Main article: Hindustani orthography

Contemporarily, Hindustani is primarily written in the Devanagari script or the Perso-Arabic script. However, the Kaithi script was the historical popular script for the language. Hindi, one standardized register of Hindustani, utilizes the Devanagari script while Urdu, the other standardized register of Hindustani utilizes the Perso-Arabic script, with Nasta`liq being the preferred calligraphic style for Urdu. Hindustani, Hindi, and Urdu have been written in several different scripts. ... च् + छ = च्छ Devanagari in Unicode The Unicode range for Devanagari is U+0900 . ... The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing the Arabic language, which is the language of the Quran, the holy book of Islam. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... A standard language (also standard dialect or standardized dialect) is a particular variety of a language that has been given either legal or quasi-legal status. ... In linguistics, a register is a subset of a language used for a particular purpose or in a particular social setting. ... च् + छ = च्छ Devanagari in Unicode The Unicode range for Devanagari is U+0900 . ... A standard language (also standard dialect or standardized dialect) is a particular variety of a language that has been given either legal or quasi-legal status. ... In linguistics, a register is a subset of a language used for a particular purpose or in a particular social setting. ... The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing the Arabic language, which is the language of the Quran, the holy book of Islam. ... Chalipa panel, Mir Emad. ...

Perso-Arabic script used to write Hindustani (Urdu): The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing the Arabic language, which is the language of the Quran, the holy book of Islam. ...

Devanagari script used to write Hindustani (Hindi): च् + छ = च्छ Devanagari in Unicode The Unicode range for Devanagari is U+0900 . ...

Because of Anglicization and international use of the Roman script, Hindustani is also sometimes written in the Roman alphabet. This adaptation is called Roman Urdu. Despite opposition from Devanagari and Perso-Arabic script script lovers, Roman Urdu is gaining popularity especially among the youth, who use the Internet or are "cyber-citizens." Another romanisation scheme, proposed by Syed Faish Uddin and Quader Unissa Begum is known as the Uddin and Begum Urdu-Hindustani Romanization system. It was adopted in 1992 by The First International Urdu Conference held in Chicago, entitled " The Modern International Standard Letters of Alphabet for URDU - (HINDUSTANI) - The INDIAN Language, script for the purposes of hand written communication, dictionary references, published material and Computerized Linguistic Communications (CLC)". Anglicisation is a process of making something English. ... The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world today. ... The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world. ... Roman Urdu is the name used for Urdu written in Roman (English) script. ... Rigveda manuscript in Devanagari (early 19th century) Devanāgarī (देवनागरी — in English pronounced ) (ISCII – IS13194:1991) [1] is an abugida alphabet used to write several Indian languages, including Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Kashmiri, Sindhi, Bihari, Bhili, Konkani, Bhojpuri and Nepali from Nepal. ... The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing the Arabic language, which is the language of the Quran, the holy book of Islam. ... Roman Urdu is the name used for Urdu written in Roman (English) script. ... The Uddin and Begum Urdu-Hindustani Romanization scheme was proposed by the late Syed Fasih Uddin and the late Quader Unissa Begum for the Romanization of Urdu-Hindustani. ...

Also see: Devanagari alphabet and Perso-Arabic script च् + छ = च्छ Devanagari in Unicode The Unicode range for Devanagari is U+0900 . ... The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing the Arabic language, which is the language of the Quran, the holy book of Islam. ...

[edit] Grammar

Main article: Hindustani grammar (Hindi-Urdu) Grammar Hindī-Urdū grammar (Hindī: हिन्दी-उर्दू व्याकरण hindī-urdū vyākaraṇ, Urdū: ہندی-اردو قواعد, hindī-urdū qavāid), also known as Hindustānī grammar, is the grammar of the Hindī-Urdū (Hindustānī) language. ...

Despite Hindustani and English both being Indo-European languages, Hindustani grammar can be very complex and is different in many ways from what English speakers are used to. Most notably, Hindustani is a subject-object-verb language, meaning that verbs usually fall at the end of the sentence rather than before the object (as in English). Hindustani also shows mixed ergativity so that, in some cases, verbs agree with the object of a sentence rather than the subject. Unlike English, Hindustani has no definite article (the). The numeral ek (एक, ایک) might be used as the indefinite singular article (a/an) if this needs to be stressed.

In addition, Hindustani uses postpositions (so called because they are placed after nouns) where English uses prepositions. Other differences include gender, honorifics, interrogatives, use of cases, and different tenses. While being complicated, Hindustani grammar is fairly regular, with irregularities being relatively limited. Despite differences in vocabulary and writing, Hindi grammar is nearly identical with Urdu. As a result, a Hindustani grammar article is appropriate for both Hindi and Urdu. The concept of punctuation having been entirely unknown before the advent of the Europeans, Hindustani punctuation uses Western conventions for commas, exclamation points, and question marks. Periods are sometimes used to end a sentence, though the traditional "full stop" (a vertical line in Devanagari script (।), short horizontal line in the Perso-Arabic script (-) is more generally used. In grammar, an adposition is an element that, prototypically, combines syntactically with a phrase and indicates how that phrase should be interpreted in the surrounding context. ... Rigveda manuscript in Devanagari (early 19th century) DevanāgarÄ« (देवनागरी — in English pronounced ) (ISCII – IS13194:1991) [1] is an abugida alphabet used to write several Indian languages, including Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Kashmiri, Sindhi, Bihari, Bhili, Konkani, Bhojpuri and Nepali from Nepal. ... The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing the Arabic language, which is the language of the Quran, the holy book of Islam. ...

[edit] Genders

In Hindustani, there are only two genders for nouns. All male human beings and male animals (or those animals and plants which are perceived to be "masculine") are masculine. All female human beings and female animals (or those animals and plants which are perceived to be "feminine") are feminine. Things, inanimate articles and abstract nouns are also either masculine or feminine according to convention, which must be memorised by non-Hindustani speakers if they wish to learn correct Hindustani. While this is similar to Sanskrit and most other Indo-European languages such as French, it is a very challenging learning requirement for many people in South India who are native speakers of languages which do not feature such inflection, but are expected by the Government to learn standard Hindi or standard Urdu. It is also a challenge for those who are used to only the English language, which although an Indo-European language, has dropped nearly all of its gender inflection. Sanskrit ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... The geographical south of India includes all Indian territory below the 20th parallel. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... In linguistics, grammatical gender is a morphological category associated with the expression of gender through inflection or agreement. ...

The ending of a word, if a vowel, usually helps in this gender classification. Among tatsam words, the masculine words of Sanskrit remain masculine in Hindustani, and same is the case for the feminine. Sanskrit neuter nouns usually become masculine in Hindustani. Among the tadbʰav words, if a word ends in long /αː/, it is normally masculine. If a word ends in /iː/ or /in/, it is normally feminine. The gender of words borrowed from Arabic and Persian is determined either by phonology (usually the last vowel in the word) or by the gender of the nearest Hindustani equivalent. The gender assignment of Hindustani words directly borrowed from English (which are numerous) is also usually determined by the gender of the nearest Hindustani "synonym" or by the ending. Most adjectives ending in a vowel are inflected to agree with the gender of the noun: /meriː beʈiː/ (मेरी बेटी, میری بیٹی) 'my daughter' vs. /merαː beʈαː/ (मेरा बेटा, میرا بیٹا) 'my son'.

[edit] Interrogatives

Besides the standard interrogative terms of who (कौन کؤن kaun), what (क्या کیا kyā), why (कयों کیوں kyoⁿ), when (कब کب kab), where (कहाँ کہاںkahāⁿ), how and what type (कैसा کیسا kaisā), how many (कितना کِتنا kitnā), etc., the Hindustani word kyā (क्या کیا) can be used as a generic interrogative often placed at the beginning of a sentence to turn a statement into a Yes/No question. This makes it clear when a question is being asked. Questions can also be formed simply by modifying intonation, exactly as some questions are in English.

[edit] Pronouns

Hindustani has pronouns in the first, second and third person for one gender only. Thus, unlike English, there is no difference between he or she. More strictly speaking, the third person of the pronoun is actually the same as the demonstrative pronoun (this / that). The verb, upon conjugation, usually indicates the difference in the gender. The pronouns have add