Learn the top five reasons you should be learning to speak Urdu
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: Hi everyone! Eric here and welcome to UrduPod101.com. This is All About lesson 1, The Top 5 reasons to study Urdu. |
| Afrah: Assalam u alaikum dosto. |
| Eric: I will be your fellow native English speaker, here to guide you through learning Urdu. |
| Afrah: And I’m Afrah, here as the Urdu native to help you along the way! |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Eric: This lesson is all about Pakistan and the Urdu language. |
| Afrah: Yes. Urdu is a really unique language in a lot of ways, from the writing system to the pronunciation to the grammar, everything. |
| Eric: Yes, I think those listeners out there who’ve studied a western language and are approaching Urdu for the first time will be amazed at just how different it is. |
| Afrah: It’s truly a beautiful language, with a rich history and intriguing culture to match. |
| Eric: What is it about this language anyway? What language family does Urdu belong to? |
| Afrah: That’s actually a really good question. Urdu is part of the Indo-European language family. |
| Eric: Urdu shares ancestral roots with English and most other European languages, which I find very interesting. |
| Afrah: They all evolved from a language thought to have been spoken in central Asia around 5000 B.C. called the ‘Indo-European parent language’ or ‘proto-Indo-European’ by linguists. |
| Eric: And though there’s no consensus for as to when Urdu emerged, the language is believed to have originated from Khariboli with the addition of Persian and Arabic words to it. Experts usually place this after the turn of the 10th century. |
| Afrah: That’s right. These days, there are around 100 million speakers of Urdu all over the world. |
| Eric: Wow, that’s a huge number! But only about 64 million people speak it natively. So that means that there are about 36 million speakers who have learned Urdu as a second language. That’s still amazing, wouldn’t you say? |
| Afrah: Yeah, it’s really amazing. |
| Eric: What about the written language? Can you tell us more about it? |
| Afrah: Sure. Our written language is based on either the Dakhni or Rekhta style of writing. The Rekhta style has its roots in India and in Iran. We write horizontally, with words placed from right to left. |
| Eric: Oh, so the opposite of English. |
| Afrah: Yes. Now let’s talk about the scripts. |
| Eric: Ah yes, the Nastaliq script. |
| Afrah: Yes. Urdu is written in the Nastaliq script which is also used by several other Pakistani languages. |
| Eric: Okay, you’ll have to tell us more about that in later lessons. What about grammar? |
| Afrah: Well, Urdu grammar is somewhat similar to that of Arabic and Persian. Much of the vocabulary of Urdu comes from one of the these languages. Some of the words also come from the local languages of India, including Hindi. |
| Eric: Okay. Next on this overview of Urdu, let’s talk about pronunciation for a moment. |
| Afrah: Ah yes, pronunciation. I will tell you right now that Urdu pronunciation is actually quite simple and the Urdu vowels are really simple too. Not like in English, where you have so many different ways to say one vowel. |
| Eric: That sounds pretty easy to me! |
| Afrah: Yes, and actually we have a separate series for Urdu pronunciation. In those lessons, listeners, you will learn more about Urdu pronunciation. |
| Eric: So how about going over a bit more about Pakistan itself. Pakistan and the Urdu language have a long history behind them. |
| Afrah: Yes, if we consider its roots, Urdu has thousands of years of history. Pakistan is a relatively new country, just 68 years old, but Pakistan has diverse cultures, religions, and communities. |
| Eric: Exactly, but despite this diversity, it has remained unified. That’s why foreigners often refer to the unity and diversity found in Pakistan. Some of the most noticeable communities include the Pathan, Punjabi, Balochi, and Sindhi. Apart from the four big communities, there are people who belong to tribal areas and are known for their tribal values and culture. The most common religion is Islam. Aside from Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, and Ahmedis are also living in the country. |
| Afrah: Pakistan’s tourist attractions are not only cultural and historical sites, but they also include many nice beaches and natural sites. The northern areas of Pakistan including Kashmir, Naran, Kaghan and Deosai plains are known around the world for their natural and scenic beauty. |
| Eric: Wow! I really want to go. |
| Afrah: You should someday, Eric. |
| Eric: Okay, now let’s talk about our top five list. |
| Afrah: These are the top five reasons to learn Urdu. |
| Eric: We'll start with #1. Urdu is influential. Some of its vocabulary has become an integral part of the English language, like pajamas and…. |
| Afrah: Pajamas? Let’s not forget about khaki, sari, and curry. These are essentially Pakistani but there are other words like guru, khuda, and nabi that have universal applications in the fields of philosophy and religion. Okay, so what’s #2 on our list? |
| Eric: The #2 reason is to communicate with Pakistani people, whether it’s with Urdu friends, family members, or people you meet when traveling. It doesn’t matter. Learning Urdu will make you understand how the people of Pakistan think and you'll learn a lot about Pakistan’s culture. |
| Afrah: Yes. Even though English is a mandatory subject in school, the number of fluent speakers is comparatively low, especially outside the cities. |
| Eric: Moreover, Pakistani people are very kind, even if you can’t speak Urdu well. |
| Afrah: Okay. So Eric, what’s our #3 reason? |
| Eric: #3 is that Urdu is a beautiful language! It's fun to learn Urdu and its artistic way of writing the letters. |
| Afrah: Yes, the language is written in many artistic styles, some of them imported from Arabic writing styles. |
| Eric: Okay. Onto number #4. Pakistan is a developing economy where businesses are booming and demand for products is rising. So learning Urdu will give you direct access to the business community and inside market knowledge as well. |
| Afrah: That’s right. Pakistan is considered to be a potential global market in the 21st century. |
| Eric: And finally, the #5 reason you should learn Urdu is... |
| Afrah: Urdu is fun! |
| Eric: I think that one speaks for itself. It’s fun! Okay, that’s it for this lesson. |
Outro |
| Eric: Thank you for listening everyone. And we’ll see you next time! |
| Afrah: Phr milenge, goodbye! |
Comments
Hide