Names of Urdu Language
Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language spoken mainly in the northern parts of India. It is the national language of Pakistan and serves as lingua franca. Through out the history of the language it has been referred with several names.
Hindi and Hindavi[edit]
Several linguist and intellectual including Sherani and Suniti Kumar Chatterji have agreement over the fact the during the initial period of Urdu it was refereed as Hindi or Hindavi. Hindi which can be translated as Indian was used to refer to the language spoken by local Indians by those elites who still used to speak Persian or Turkic as a their first or court language. This name is also found mentioned in several works like Qazi Khan Badar (16th century) till 18th century writers like Siraj-ud-Din Ali Khan Arzu. The Earliest mention of the name was found in the work of Baburnama (15th Century) by the Mughal Emperor Babar, where he has mentioned this couplet as Hindavi.
مج کا کچھ مانک ہپوس ہوتی فقرا حالنا بس، بل کسدر پانی وروتی
Several works of Sufi writer like Ashraf Jahangir Semnani had used the same name for Urdu language. Shah Abdul Qadir was the first person who translated Quran into Urdu language and he used Hindi to for the language.[1] After Hindi–Urdu controversy the word Hindi became particularly associated with Hindi language.
Rekhta[edit]
For the first time, it was in Akbar era when the word Rekhta was used for the language. It is originally a Persian word mean to create, mixture etc. However, the word was used for a poetical technique in Urdu. A poem composed of both Indian and Persian vocabulary was called Rekhta. Some intellectual including Sherani believes that Khusru was the first person to use the same word for Poetry.
Urdu e Muallah[edit]
Urdu is a Turkic word meaning Horde. During Shahjahan’s time when the capital was relocated to Delhi he named it Shahjahanabad and the Bazar of the town was named as Urdu e Muallah.[2][3]
Other[edit]
Other names include: Dakhini, Hindustani, Lahori, Gujjari, Moors, Lahori, Dehlavi etc
References[edit]
- ↑ Christine Everaert (2010). Tracing the Boundaries Between Hindi and Urdu. ISBN 978-9004177314. Search this book on
- ↑ Varma, Siddheshwar (1973). G. A. Grierson's Linguistic Survey of India. Search this book on
- ↑ Khan, Abdul Jamil (2006). Urdu/Hindi: An Artificial Divide: African Heritage, Mesopotamian Root. ISBN 9780875864372. Search this book on
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