For the love of Urdu

Just as all languages that use the Latin alphabet are not Latin, all languages that use the Arabic alphabet are not Arabic. Farsi is a case in point, where the Arabic alphabet is expanded by adding letters absent in Arabic (e.g., چ , پ , and گ).  Urdu, in turn, draws upon a variety of languages and expands on the Farsi alphabet (for example, by adding ڑ , ٹ , and ڈ).

However, among learners of Urdu as a second language, especially those who come from a background of having first mastered Arabic, a trend has developed to superimpose Arabic sounds onto Urdu (usually when reciting Urdu prose or poetry but sometimes also in day-to-day speech).

This importation of Arabic enunciation and pronunciation makes Urdu sound completely unnatural and foreign and by distracting the listener with unfamiliar sounds, categorically strips away the beauty and richness of the Urdu language. At times this forced Arabicization of Urdu can also result in comical results; the short story at the bottom of this post illustrates this phenomenon well.

I have summarized some basic facts that all Urdu language learners, readers, and speakers should keep in mind:

• As a quick rule, in Urdu the letters  ع  , ط , ذ , ض , ظ , ث , ص , and ح are never pronounced as they are in Arabic. 
• Urdu allows for additional letters that do not appear in Arabic: پ , ٹ , چ  , ڈ , ڑ , ژ  and  گ.
• The letter ں, which makes the nasal un sound without pronouncing the n itself, must always be pronounced in Urdu.  The addition of this letter and sound can often change the meaning of the word completely, for example, كہا  which means “said” vs. كہاں which means “where”.
• Urdu, unlike Arabic, provides for additional sounds by allowing certain letters to be compounded with the letter ھ to make a single sound (e.g.,  كھ). Urdu writers must take care and note that the letters ھ and ہ are not interchangeable.  Adding ہ to a letter does not compound the two letters and as a result both letters are pronounced individually.  For example, كہا نا (kaha na which means “said already”) vs. كھانا (khana which means food).

Here’s a quick cheat sheet for those who are trying their hand at Urdu while coming from an Arabic background.  Letters with the same color are all pronounced exactly the same. Admittedly, for people used to the distinct sound that each Arabic letter brings with it, this can be very confusing. For example, in Urdu ا and ع are both pronounced like ا.

And the story I promised earlier is below (click / tap on it to make it bigger and more legible).  Enjoy and remember, Urdu is not Arabic. 😉