The term Urdu derives from a Turkish word ordu meaning camp or army. The Urdu language developed between the Muslim soldiers of the Mughals armies who belonged to numerous ethnicities like Turks, Arabs, Persians, Pathans, Balochis, Rajputs, Jats and Afghans. These soldiers lived in close contact with each other and communicated in different dialects, which slowly and gradually advanced into present day Urdu. It’s for this reason that Urdu can be referred to as Lashkari Zaban or language of the army.
During its development Urdu language additionally assumed various names like the term Urdu-e-Maullah meaning the exalted military which was given by Emperor Shah Jahan and the time period Rekhta that 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 relies on the evolution and development of a society the place that language is spoken. Numerous invasions and conquests on a place affect the development of its language. Urdu is no exception as it additionally underwent various phases 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 began to develop, it was influenced by Western Hindi dialects of Khari Boli, Brij Bhasa and Haryanvi.
With the coming of Insha’s Darya-e-Latafat*, a need was felt to distinguish Urdu with other languages particularly Hindi. It became a Hindi-Urdu controversy and in consequence Khari Boli and Devanagari became 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 advanced which later turned Urdu. In the course of the Mughals reign, Urdu was spoken in palaces and court and till the tip of the Mughal rule; Urdu was the official language of most of Mughal states. This was the time when Urdu had become 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 were accepted in their real form while others had been accepted after some modifications.
Presently, Urdu vocabulary comprises approximately 70% of Persian words and the remainder are a combination 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 different 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 folks of various speech and dialects, a mixed form of language formed called ‘Rekhta’ (Urdu and Persian in mixed form). Quickly folks started to make use of the new language in 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 crucial eminent earliest poets who made utilization of Urdu in his poetry is Amir Khusro who will be called the daddy of Urdu language. In literature, Urdu was usually used alongside side Persian. Mughal kings have been the good patrons of art and literature and it was under their rule that Urdu language reached its zenith. There used to be a tradition of ‘Sheri Mehfils’ (poetic gatherings) in 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 is indeed true that Hindi and Urdu are descendents of the identical language i.e. Prakrit, however where the Hindi took affect 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 style of writing and emerged as a separate language. But beside common ancestry, the two languages are as totally different as can be. There are marked grammatical, phonological and lexical differences in both languages.
Urdu was also used as a software by the Muslims for freedom struggle and for creating awareness amongst Muslim communities in South Asia to unite under the banner of Independence from British Raj. For this, providers of Maulana Hali, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Allama Iqbal aren’table, who by means of their poetry and prose provoked the necessary spark in the lives of the Muslims. Urdu was chosen to change into the nationwide language of Pakistan at the time of Independence from British. Urdu is now the national language of Pakistan, spoken and understood completely by majority of the population.
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