urdu

Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken in Pakistan and India. It functions as a lingua franca in parts of both countries and as a major literary language. In Pakistan, Urdu is the national language and is widely used in administration and media; in India it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and is taught in schools in several states.

Urdu developed in the north Indian subcontinent during the medieval period as a register of Hindustani, influenced by Persian and Arabic due to Mughal rule. It emerged from the Khariboli dialect around Delhi and Lucknow, gaining prestige in Mughal courts. The language is written in the Perso-Arabic script called Nastaliq.

Urdu is written right-to-left in the Perso-Arabic script, with much of its vocabulary drawn from Persian, Arabic, and Turkish, alongside native Hindustani words; standard Urdu and Hindi diverge mainly in script and lexical emphasis.

Urdu has regional varieties, including Deccani Urdu in the Deccan and other urban forms in Pakistan and northern India. Colloquial speech overlaps with Hindustani, making mutual intelligibility high in everyday speech.

Urdu has a rich literary tradition, notably in poetry (ghazals and nazms) and modern fiction and journalism. It has produced renowned poets such as Mir, Ghalib, Iqbal, and Faiz. The language is central to South Asian cinema, music, and theatre, and remains a symbol of cultural identity for many speakers worldwide.

Urdu is spoken by tens of millions in South Asia and by diasporic communities in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and North America. It is studied academically and supported by standard orthography, media, and publishing.