Editing Urdu (section)

== Demographics and geographic distribution ==
{{See also|Languages of Pakistan|Languages of India}}
[[File:Geographical distribution of Urdu in India and Pakistan.png|thumb|Geographical distribution of Urdu in India and Pakistan.]]
There are over 100 million native speakers of Urdu in India and Pakistan together: there were 50.8 million Urdu speakers in India (4.34% of the total population) as per the 2011 census;{{r|indiacensus}} and approximately 16 million in Pakistan in 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/tables/POPULATION%20BY%20MOTHER%20TONGUE.pdf|title=Government of Pakistan: Population by Mother Tongue|publisher=[[Pakistan Bureau of Statistics]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141010134307/http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/tables/POPULATION%20BY%20MOTHER%20TONGUE.pdf|archive-date=10 October 2014}}</ref> There are several hundred thousand in the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, United States, and [[Bangladesh]].<ref name=e25/> However, Hindustani, of which Urdu is one variety, is spoken much more widely, forming the third most commonly spoken language in the world, after [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]] and [[English language|English]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/literature-and-arts/language-linguistics-and-literary-terms/language-and-linguistics/hindustani|title=Hindustani|work=Columbia University press|publisher=encyclopedia.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729004822/http://www.encyclopedia.com/literature-and-arts/language-linguistics-and-literary-terms/language-and-linguistics/hindustani|archive-date=29 July 2017}}</ref> The [[syntax]] (grammar), [[Morphology (linguistics)|morphology]], and the core vocabulary of Urdu and Hindi are essentially identical – thus linguists usually count them as one single language, while some contend that they are considered as two different languages for socio-political reasons.<ref>e.g. {{Harvcoltxt|Gumperz|1982|p=20}}</ref>

Owing to interaction with other languages, Urdu has become localised wherever it is spoken, including in Pakistan. Though Urdu is spoken by many [[Muhajir (Pakistan)|Muhajirs]] in its original form. In some areas, it has borrowed words from regional languages, giving the language a peculiar regional flavor. Similarly, the Urdu spoken in India can also be distinguished into many dialects such as the Standard Urdu of [[Lucknow]] and [[Delhi]], as well as the [[Dakhni]] ([[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]]) of South India.<ref name="Schmidt2005"/><ref name="Khan2001"/> Because of Urdu's similarity to [[Hindi]], speakers of the two languages can easily understand one another if both sides refrain from using literary vocabulary.<ref name="GubeGao2019"/>

=== Pakistan ===
[[File:Urdu-speakers by Pakistani District - 2017 Census.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.6|<div style="text-align: center">The proportion of people with Urdu as their [[mother tongue]] in each Pakistani [[Districts of Pakistan|District]] as of the [[2017 Pakistan Census]]</div>]]

Although Urdu is widely spoken and understood throughout all of Pakistan,<ref>{{cite web |title=PAKISTAN |url=https://www.iandl.marines.mil/Divisions/Logistics-Plans-Policies-Strategic-Mobility-LP/Logistics-Life-Cycle-Management-Branch-LPC/LPC-4-Contracts/MARFORCENT/Pakistan/ |website=Official U.S. Marine Corps |access-date=5 February 2022 |archive-date=31 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220131054726/https://www.iandl.marines.mil/Divisions/Logistics-Plans-Policies-Strategic-Mobility-LP/Logistics-Life-Cycle-Management-Branch-LPC/LPC-4-Contracts/MARFORCENT/Pakistan/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> only 9.25% of Pakistan's population spoke Urdu according to the [[2023 Pakistani census]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JkQfwA30aY4C&pg=PA264|title=The World Factbook|date=1992|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|language=en|page=264}}</ref> Most of the nearly three million Afghan refugees of different ethnic origins (such as [[Pashtun people|Pashtun]], [[Tājik people|Tajik]], [[Uzbeks|Uzbek]], [[Hazara people|Hazarvi]], and [[Turkmen people|Turkmen]]) who stayed in Pakistan for over twenty-five years have also become fluent in Urdu.<ref name="Achakzai-2019" /> Muhajirs since 1947 have historically formed the majority population in the city of [[Karachi]], however.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QgbIAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA217|title=Gendering Urban Space in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa|last1=Rieker|first1=M.|last2=Ali|first2=K.|date=26 May 2008|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-0-230-61247-1|language=en}}</ref> Many newspapers are published in Urdu in Pakistan, including the ''[[Daily Jang]]'', ''[[Nawa-i-Waqt]]'', and ''[[Millat]]''.

Urdu is spoken as the first language of many people among the community known as [[Muhajirs (Pakistan)|Muhajirs]] (a multi-origin ethnic group of Pakistan), who left India after independence in 1947; these Muhajirs were from various parts of India, with Urdu speakers predominantly hailing from [[United Provinces (1937–1950)|United Provinces]] (Uttar Pradesh), [[Delhi]], [[Central Provinces]] (Madhya Pradesh), [[Bihar]] and [[Hyderabad]].<ref name="AlexanderChatterji2015">{{cite book|author1=Claire Alexander|author2=Joya Chatterji|author3=Annu Jalais|title=The Bengal Diaspora: Rethinking Muslim migration|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gZ_hCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA96|date=6 November 2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-33593-1|pages=96–}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-11-07 |title=Muhajirs in historical perspective |url=https://nation.com.pk/07-Nov-2014/muhajirs-in-historical-perspective |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=The Nation |language=en-US}}</ref> Other communities, most notably the [[Punjabis|Punjabi elite]] of Pakistan, have adopted Urdu as a [[First language|mother tongue]] and identify with both an Urdu speaker as well as [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] identity.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Singh|first=Nikky-Guninder Kaur|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=chCMDwAAQBAJ&dq=punjabis+adopting+urdu&pg=PA121|title=Of Sacred and Secular Desire: An Anthology of Lyrical Writings from the Punjab|date=30 November 2012|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-0-85772-139-6|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Why Punjabis in Pakistan Have Abandoned Punjabi |url=https://www.fairobserver.com/region/central_south_asia/ishtiaq-ahmed-pakistan-punjab-south-asian-languages-punjabi-language-world-news-16791/ |website=Fair Observer|date=14 July 2020 }}</ref> Urdu was chosen as a symbol of unity for the new state of Pakistan in 1947, because it had already served as a ''lingua franca'' among Muslims in north and northwest [[Presidencies and provinces of British India|British India]]. It is written, spoken and used in all [[Subdivisions of Pakistan|provinces/territories of Pakistan]], and together with English as the main languages of instruction,<ref>{{cite web |title=EDUCATION SYSTEM PROFILES Education in Pakistan |url=https://wenr.wes.org/2020/02/education-in-pakistan |website=World Education Services |date=25 February 2020 |quote=English has been the main language of instruction at the elementary and secondary levels since colonial times. It remains the predominant language of instruction in private schools but has been increasingly replaced with Urdu in public schools. Punjab province, for example, recently announced that it will begin to use Urdu as the exclusive medium of instruction in schools beginning in 2020. Depending on the location and predominantly in rural areas, regional languages are used as well, particularly in elementary education. The language of instruction in higher education is mostly English, but some programs and institutions teach in Urdu.}}</ref> although the people from differing provinces may have different native languages.<ref>{{cite journal |editor1=Robina Kausar |editor2=Muhammad Sarwar |editor3=Muhammad Shabbir |title=The History of the Urdu Language Together with Its Origin and Geographic Distribution |journal=International Journal of Innovation and Research in Educational Sciences |volume=2 |issue=1 |url=https://www.ijires.org/administrator/components/com_jresearch/files/publications/IJIRES-154_final.pdf}}</ref>

Urdu is taught as a compulsory subject up to higher secondary school in both English and Urdu medium school systems, which has produced millions of second-language Urdu speakers among people whose native language is one of the other [[languages of Pakistan]] – which in turn has led to the absorption of vocabulary from various regional Pakistani languages,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I2QmPHeIowoC&q=urdu+adopting+regional+language&pg=PA119|title=Geography of the South Asian Subcontinent: A Critical Approach|last=Ahmad|first=Aijazuddin|date=2009|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-8069-568-1|language=en}}</ref> while some Urdu vocabularies has also been assimilated by Pakistan's regional languages.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PSFBDAAAQBAJ&q=urdu+pashto+speakers+assimilate&pg=PA291|title=The Languages and Linguistics of South Asia: A Comprehensive Guide|last1=Hock|first1=Hans Henrich|last2=Bashir|first2=Elena|date=24 May 2016|publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG|isbn=978-3-11-042330-3|language=en}}</ref> Some who are from a non-Urdu background now can read and write only Urdu. With such a large number of people(s) speaking Urdu, the language has acquired a peculiar regional flavor further distinguishing it from the Urdu spoken by native speakers, resulting in more diversity within the language.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://herald.dawn.com/news/1153737|title=The case for Urdu as Pakistan's official language|last=Raj|first=Ali|date=30 April 2017|website=Herald Magazine|language=en|access-date=28 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191028222041/https://herald.dawn.com/news/1153737|archive-date=28 October 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{clarify|reason=struggling a bit here - who are the native speakers?|date=July 2020}}

=== India ===
In India, Urdu is spoken in places where there are large Muslim minorities or cities that were bases for Muslim empires in the past. These include parts of [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[Bihar]], [[Telangana]], [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[Maharashtra]] ([[Marathwada]] and Konkanis), [[Karnataka]] and cities such as [[Hyderabad]], [[Lucknow]], [[Delhi]], [[Malerkotla]], [[Bareilly]], [[Meerut]], [[Saharanpur]], [[Muzaffarnagar]], [[Roorkee]], [[Deoband]], [[Moradabad]], [[Azamgarh]], [[Bijnor]], [[Najibabad]], [[Rampur, Uttar Pradesh|Rampur]], [[Aligarh]], [[Allahabad]], [[Gorakhpur]], [[Agra]], [[Firozabad]], [[Kanpur]], [[Badaun]], [[Bhopal]], [[Hyderabad, India|Hyderabad]], [[Aurangabad, Maharashtra|Aurangabad]],<ref name="MOE Nepal-1994" /> [[Bangalore]], [[Kolkata]], [[Mysore]], [[Patna]], [[Darbhanga]], [[Gaya, India|Gaya]], [[Madhubani, Bihar|Madhubani]], [[Samastipur]], [[Siwan, Bihar|Siwan]], [[Saharsa]], [[Supaul]], [[Muzaffarpur]], [[Nalanda]], [[Munger]], [[Bhagalpur]], [[Araria]], [[Gulbarga]], [[Parbhani]], [[Nanded]], [[Malegaon]], [[Bidar]], [[Ajmer]], and [[Ahmedabad]].<ref name="Urdu-2016">[http://www.dictionary.com/browse/urdu "Urdu"]{{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319020509/http://www.dictionary.com/browse/urdu|date=19 March 2016}}. ''[[Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary]]''.</ref> In a very significant number among the nearly 800 districts of India, there is a small Urdu-speaking minority at least. In [[Araria district]], Bihar, there is a plurality of Urdu speakers and near-plurality in [[Hyderabad district, Telangana]] (43.35% Telugu speakers and 43.24% Urdu speakers).

Some Indian Muslim schools ([[Madrasa]]) teach Urdu as a first language and have their own syllabi and exams.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ahmad |first=Imtiaz |date=2002 |title=Urdu and Madrasa Education |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4412235 |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=37 |issue=24 |pages=2285–2287 |jstor=4412235 |issn=0012-9976}}</ref> In fact, the language of [[Bollywood]] films tend to contain a large number of Persian and Arabic words and thus considered to be "Urdu" in a sense,<ref name="Warsi-2021">{{Cite web |date=27 February 2021 |title=Is Urdu losing its charm in Bollywood films? |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/in-perspective/is-urdu-losing-its-charm-in-bollywood-films-955816.html |access-date=19 May 2023 |website=Deccan Herald |language=en}}</ref> especially in songs.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=238ZBQAAQBAJ&q=bollywood+urdu&pg=PT214|title=Bollywood Sounds: The Cosmopolitan Mediations of Hindi Film Song|last=Beaster-Jones|first=Jayson|date=9 October 2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-999348-2|language=en}}</ref>

India has more than 3,000 Urdu publications, including 405 daily Urdu newspapers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Urdu newspapers: growing, not dying |url=http://asu.thehoot.org/research/research-studies/urdu-newspapers-growing-not-dying-9683 |website=asu.thehoot.org |access-date=6 September 2020 |archive-date=26 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226152811/http://asu.thehoot.org/research/research-studies/urdu-newspapers-growing-not-dying-9683 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Russell |first1=Ralph |title=Urdu in India since Independence |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |pages=44–48 |date=1999|volume=34 |issue=1/2 |jstor=4407548 }}</ref> Newspapers such as ''Neshat News Urdu'', ''Sahara Urdu'', ''Daily Salar'', ''Hindustan Express'', ''Daily Pasban'', ''[[The Siasat Daily|Siasat Daily]]'', ''[[The Munsif Daily]]'' and ''Inqilab'' are published and distributed in Bangalore, Malegaon, Mysore, Hyderabad, and [[Mumbai]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.auditbureau.org/files/JJ2017%20Highest%20Circulated%20amongst%20ABC%20Member%20Publications%20(language%20wise).pdf | title=Highest Circulated amongst ABC Member Publications Jan - Jun 2017| publisher=Audit Bureau of Circulations| access-date=12 September 2020}}</ref>

=== Elsewhere ===
[[File:UAE_signboard.jpg|right|thumb|A trilingual [[signboard]] in [[Arabic]], English and Urdu in the [[United Arab Emirates|UAE]].  The Urdu sentence is not a direct translation of the English ("Your beautiful city invites you to preserve it") or Arabic (the same). It says, "apné shahar kī Khūbsūrtīi ko barqarār rakhié, or "Please preserve the beauty of your city."]]

In [[Nepal]], Urdu is a registered regional dialect<ref name="MOE Nepal-1994">{{cite web|title=National Languages Policy Recommendation Commission|url=https://www.moe.gov.np/assets/uploads/files/Language_Policy_English1.pdf|page=Appendix one|publisher=MOE Nepal|year=1994|access-date=14 March 2021|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326032133/https://www.moe.gov.np/assets/uploads/files/Language_Policy_English1.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> and in [[South Africa]], it is a protected language in the constitution. It is also spoken as a minority language in [[Afghanistan]] and [[Bangladesh]], with no official status.

Outside South Asia, it is spoken by large numbers of migrant South Asian workers in the major urban centres of the [[Persian Gulf]] countries. Urdu is also spoken by large numbers of immigrants and their children in the major urban centres of the [[Urdu in the United Kingdom|United Kingdom]], the United States, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, and Australia.<ref>{{cite web |title=Most Pakistanis and Urdu speakers live in this Australian state |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/most-pakistanis-and-urdu-speakers-live-in-this-australian-state |website=SBS Your Language |publisher=sbs.com.au |language=en}}</ref> Along with [[Arabic language|Arabic]], Urdu is among the immigrant languages with the most speakers in [[Catalonia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.europapress.es/cultura/noticia-catalunya-arabe-urdu-aparecen-lenguas-habituales-catalunya-creando-peligro-guetos-20090629150020.html|title=Árabe y urdu aparecen entre las lenguas habituales de Catalunya, creando peligro de guetos|date=29 June 2009|publisher=Europapress.es|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118070643/http://www.europapress.es/cultura/noticia-catalunya-arabe-urdu-aparecen-lenguas-habituales-catalunya-creando-peligro-guetos-20090629150020.html|archive-date=18 January 2012|access-date=18 December 2011}}</ref>