urud

Urud is a term that most often appears as an alternative or historical spelling of Urdu, the Indo-Aryan language of South Asia. In modern linguistic references, Urdu is the preferred form; Urud is encountered mainly in older texts or as a transliteration variant.

Urdu is spoken primarily in Pakistan, where it is the national language and lingua franca, and in India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and is used in literature, media, and education. The language forms a standard register known as Modern Standard Urdu and exists in many regional varieties.

The name Urdu is often said to derive from the Turkish word ordu, meaning army, reflecting its emergence as a lingua franca in the Mughal period; the language has been heavily enriched by Persian and Arabic vocabulary while maintaining its Hindustani base. Urdu is written from right to left in a Perso-Arabic script called Nastaliq, noted for its calligraphic style.

Urdu literature is renowned for poetry (Ghazal, Marsiya) and modern prose, including journalism and fiction. In academic and cultural contexts, Urdu is associated with both Pakistan and South Asia's Urdu-speaking communities.

See also: Urdu, Hindustani, Nastaliq, Romanization.