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- Hindustani language, lingua franca of northern India and Pakistan. Two variants of Hindustani, Urdu and Hindi, are official languages in Pakistan and India, respectively.
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The majority of Pakistan's languages belong to the Indo-Iranian group of the Indo-European language family. Urdu is the national language and the lingua franca of Pakistan, and while sharing official status with English, it is the preferred and dominant language used for inter-communication between different ethnic groups.
- QWERTY and Urdu keyboard
- Pakistani Sign Language
Hindi is written from left to right in the Devanagari script, and is the official language of India, along with English. Urdu, on the other hand, is written from right to left in the Nastaliq script (a modified form of the Arabic script) and is the national language of Pakistan.
- Indo-Pakistani Sign Language, Signed Urdu
Apr 13, 2024 · Urdu is spoken as a first language by nearly 70 million people and as a second language by more than 100 million people, predominantly in Pakistan and India. It is the official state language of Pakistan and is also officially recognized, or “scheduled,” in the constitution of India.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- What language family does the Urdu language belong to?The Urdu language is a member of the Indo-Aryan group within the Indo-European family of languages.
- Is the Urdu language the same as Hindi?The Urdu language is closely related to Hindi. They share the same Indo-Aryan base, are similar in phonology and grammar, and are mutually intellig...
- What writing system does the Urdu language use?The Urdu language uses a modified form of Perso-Arabic script known as Nastaliq (nastaʿlīq).
- Where is the Urdu language spoken?The Urdu language is spoken predominantly in Pakistan and India. It is the official state language of Pakistan and is also officially recognized in...
The Dravidian languages are spoken mainly in southern India and parts of eastern and central India as well as in parts of northeastern Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. The Dravidian languages with the most speakers are Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam. [6]
Official Languages. India has "Official Languages” at the state and central levels but there is no one "national language." Hindi is the official language of the central government in India, with English as a provisional official sub-language. Individual state legislatures can adopt any regional language as the official language of that state.
Standard Urdu has approximately the twentieth largest population of native speakers, among all languages. It is the national language of Pakistan, as well as one of the twenty-three official languages of India . Urdu is often contrasted with Hindi, another standardized form of Hindustani.
Two variants of Hindustani, Urdu and Hindi, are official languages in Pakistan and India, respectively. Hindustani began to develop during the 13th century ce in and around the Indian cities of Delhi and Meerut in response to the increasing linguistic diversity that resulted from Muslim hegemony.
