Editing Dialect (section)

=== Hindi and Urdu ===
{{Main|Hindustani language}}
{{See also|Hindi belt|Hindi-Urdu controversy}}

[[Hindi]] is one of the official languages of [[India]], alongside [[English language|English]], and an official language in [[Languages with legal status in India|nine states]] (including [[Gujarat]], where [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] is the most spoken language). [[Urdu]] is the national and official language of [[Pakistan]], as well as being an additional official language in 5 states of India (3 of the 8 Hindi speaking states plus [[Andhra Pradesh]] and [[Telangana]]). While it is the second language for most Pakistanis (outside of [[Muhajir (Pakistan)|muhajirs]] who immigrated during [[Partition of India|partition]] and their descendants) in favor of languages like [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] and [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]], it is the first language of most [[Indian Muslims]] in [[North India]] and the [[Deccan Plateau]].

The two languages in their colloquially spoken form are mutually intelligible, but in written form, Hindi uses the [[Devanagari]] script while Urdu uses the [[Perso-Arabic]] script. For formal vocabulary, the two languages diverge, with Hindi drawing more from [[Sanskrit]] and Urdu more from [[Persian language|Persian]] or [[Arabic]]. 

In addition, several other dialects or languages are classified under Hindi that did not descend from it. Standard Hindi and Urdu are based on [[Khari Boli]], the dialect spoken around [[Delhi]]. Other dialects with high mutual intelligibility spoken in surrounding areas include [[Haryanvi]] and languages from Western [[Uttar Pradesh]], like [[Braj Bhasha]]. But many languages less similar to Standard Hindi do not have official status under the [[8th Schedule to the Constitution of India]] and are instead classified as dialects of Hindi.<ref>{{cite web|title=Constitution of India, Eighth schedule|url=https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/Eighth_Schedule.pdf|publisher=[[Government of India]]|access-date=1 December 2023}}</ref> This includes [[Bhojpuri language|Bhojpuri]], spoken in Eastern Uttar Pradesh and [[Bihar]], which does not have official status in either state or in the 8th Schedule, despite being spoken by over 50 million people.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/bihar/mahagathbandhan-demands-official-language-status-for-bhojpuri-in-bihar/article68748414.ece|title=Mahagathbandhan demands 'official language' status for Bhojpuri in Bihar|date=13 October 2024|website=[[The Hindu]]}}</ref> But over time, more languages have been recognized as distinct from Hindi. [[Maithili language|Maithili]] was made a scheduled language of India in 2003, and [[Chhattisgarhi]] was made official in [[Chhattisgarh]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://linguistics.illinois.edu/languages/hindi/about-hindi|website=[[UIUC]]|title=About Hindi|access-date=2024-10-20}}</ref>