The name Urdu was first used by the poet Ghulam Hamadani Mushafi around 1780 for Hindustani language even though he himself also used … See more

There are over 100 million native speakers of Urdu in India and Pakistan together: there were 50.8 million Urdu speakers in India (4.34% of the total population) as per the 2011 census; and … See more

Pakistan
Urdu is the sole national, and one of the two official languages of Pakistan (along with English). It is … See more

Urdu became a literary language in the 18th century and two similar standard forms came into existence in Delhi and Lucknow. Since the partition of India in 1947, a third standard has arisen in the Pakistani city of Karachi. Deccani, an older form used in See more

Origins
Urdu, like Hindi, is a form of Hindustani language. Some linguists have suggested that the earliest forms of Urdu evolved from the medieval … See more

Colonial India
Religious and social atmospheres in early nineteenth century India played a significant role in the development of the Urdu register. Hindi became the distinct register spoken by those who sought to construct a Hindu … See more

Standard Urdu is often compared with Standard Hindi. Both Urdu and Hindi, which are considered standard registers of the same language, Hindustani (or Hindi-Urdu), share a core … See more