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Urdu - The Origin and History of the Language

 

The term Urdu derives from a Turkish word ordu that means camp or army. The Urdu language developed between the Muslim soldiers of the Mughals armies who belonged to various ethnicities like Turks, Arabs, Persians, Pathans, Balochis, Rajputs, Jats and Afghans. These soldiers lived in close contact with each other and communicated in several dialects, which slowly and gradually advanced into current day Urdu. It is for this reason that Urdu can be referred to as Lashkari Zaban or language of the army.

 

 

During its development Urdu language also assumed numerous names like the term Urdu-e-Maullah meaning the exalted military which was given by Emperor Shah Jahan and the term Rekhta which means scattered (with Persian words) which was coined by the scholars for Urdu poetry.

 

 

History and Evolution of Urdu Language

 

 

Evolution and development of any language is dependent on the evolution and development of a society where that language is spoken. Various invasions and conquests on a spot affect the development of its language. Urdu isn't any exception as it additionally underwent various levels of development.

 

 

Urdu belongs to the Indo-Aryan household of languages. Urdu by origin is considered to be a descendent of Saur Senic Prakrit. The term Prakrriti means root or basis. It is a later model of Sanskrit. As Prakrit language started to develop, it was influenced by Western Hindi dialects of Khari Boli, Brij Bhasa and Haryanvi.

 

 

With the approaching of Insha's Darya-e-Latafat*, a need was felt to distinguish Urdu with other languages especially Hindi. It became a Hindi-Urdu controversy and as a result Khari Boli and Devanagari grew to become the identity of Indians while Urdu and Persian of Muslims. In this context, Persian and Arabic words changed with Sanskrit served the aim of differentiating Hindi from Urdu.

 

 

Urdu emerged as a distinct language after 1193 AD - the time of the Muslims conquest. When the Muslims conquered this part of the continent, they made Persian the official and cultural language of India. As a result of the amalgamation of local dialects and the language of the invaders - which was either Persian, Arabic and Turkish, a new language developed which later became Urdu. In the course of the Mughals reign, Urdu was spoken in palaces and court and till the top of the Mughal rule; Urdu was the official language of most of Mughal states. This was the time when Urdu had turn into Persianized and enriched with Persian words, phrases and even script and grammar. With the approaching of the British, new English words additionally turned part of the Urdu language. Many English words had been accepted in their real form while others were accepted after some modifications.

 

 

Currently, Urdu vocabulary incorporates approximately 70% of Persian words and the remainder are a mix of Arabic and Turkish words. However, there are also traces of the French, Portuguese and Dutch language in Urdu. But these influences are little.

 

 

Urdu was taken to other parts of the country by soldiers, saints and sufis and by the frequent people. On account of the political, social and cultural contacts amongst the people of different speech and dialects, a blended form of language formed called 'Rekhta' (Urdu and Persian in mixed form). Quickly individuals started to make use of the new language of their speech and in literature which resulted in the enrichment of Urdu language and literature.

 

 

Urdu Literature

 

 

The origin of Urdu literature dates back to the thirteenth century in India during the Mughal rule. One of the eminent earliest poets who made utilization of Urdu in his poetry is Amir Khusro who could be called the father of Urdu language. In literature, Urdu was normally used along side Persian. Mughal kings were the great patrons of artwork and literature and it was under their rule that Urdu language reached its zenith. There was a tradition of 'Sheri Mehfils' (poetic gatherings) within the kings' courts. Abul Fazal Faizi and Abdul Rahim Khankhana were the famous Urdu poets of Mughal court. Likewise, Mirza Ghalib, Allama Iqbal, Hakim Momin, Ibrahim Zauq, Mir Taqi Mir, Sauda, Ibn-e-Insha and Faiz Ahmed Faiz have contributed to the evolution of Urdu language via their literary works.

 

 

It's certainly true that Hindi and Urdu are descendents of the same language i.e. Prakrit, however where the Hindi took influence from Sanskrit and adopted Devanagri script of writing, Urdu absorbed words from Persian, Turkish and Arabic languages and adopted Persian-Arabic script and Nastaliq calligraphic type of writing and emerged as a separate language. However beside common ancestry, the two languages are as completely different as can be. There are marked grammatical, phonological and lexical variations in both languages.

 

 

Urdu was also used as a software by the Muslims for freedom battle and for creating awareness among Muslim communities in South Asia to unite under the banner of Independence from British Raj. For this, companies of Maulana Hali, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Allama Iqbal are notable, who by means of their poetry and prose provoked the mandatory spark in the lives of the Muslims. Urdu was chosen to grow to be the national language of Pakistan at the time of Independence from British. Urdu is now the national language of Pakistan, spoken and understood thoroughly by majority of the population.

 

 

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