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 a lingua franca. Throughout the history of the language, it has been referred to with several names.
Hindi and Hindavi
Several linguists and intellectuals, including Sherani and Suniti Kumar Chatterji, have agreed on the fact that during the initial period of Urdu, it was referred to 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 their first or court language. This name is also found mentioned in several works like Qazi Khan Badar (16th century) till the 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 writers like Ashraf Jahangir Semnani had used the same name for the Urdu language. Shah Abdul Qadir was the first person who translated the Quran into the Urdu language and he used Hindi to for the language.[1] After the Hindi–Urdu controversy, the word Hindi became particularly associated with the Hindi language.
Rekhta
For the first time, it was in the Akbar era when the word Rekhta was used for the language. It is originally a Persian word meaning 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 intellectuals, including Sherani, believe that Khusru was the first person to use the same word for Poetry.
Urdu e Muallah
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
Other names include: Dakhini, Hindustani, Lahori, Gujjari, Moors, Lahori, Dehlavi etc
References
- ↑ 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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