This book sheds light on the complex relationship between Hindi and Urdu. Through a detailed reading of a representative set of 20th century short stories in both languages, the author leads the reader towards a clear definition of the differences between Hindi and Urdu. The full translations of the stories have been extensively annotated to point out the details in which the Hindi and Urdu versions differ. An overview of early and contemporary Hindi/Urdu and Hindustani grammars and language teaching textbooks demonstrates the problems of correctly naming and identifying the two languages. This book now offers a detailed and systematic database of syntactic, morphological and semantic differences between the selected Hindi and Urdu stories. A useful tool for all scholars of modern Hindi/Urdu fiction, (socio-)linguistics, history or social sciences.

The lingua franca of the Indo-Pakistani people is one language, claims Khan, called Hindi when written in Nagari and Urdu when written in Arabic. He says it is not descended from Sanskrit, as conventionally believed, but is 10-12,000 years old and was influenced early by the Austric-Munda and Dravidian language families. Leaving aside any religious

This book is the first of its kind on the socio-political history of Urdu. It analyses the historiography of the language-narratives about its names, linguistic ancestry, place of birth-and relates it to the politics of identity-construction among the Hindus and Muslims of India during the last two centuries. More importantly, a historical account of the use of Urdu in social domains such as employment, education, printing and publishing, radio, films and television etc. has been provided for the first time. These accounts are related to the expression of Hindu and Muslim identity-politics during the last two centuries. Evolution of Urdu from the language of the laity, both Hindus and Muslims, of the Indian subcontinent during the period between 15th-18th centuries to its standardization into two languages: Persianized Urdu and Sanskritized Hindi are highlighted here. The writer looks at narratives of the names, theories of genealogy and places of origin of the language in relation to the political imperatives of identity-politics of Hindus and Muslims during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In a nutshell, historiography is analyzed with reference to its political and ideological dimensions-and a fresh analysis regarding the linguistic history of Urdu is provided.

Prior to the nineteenth century, South Asian dictionaries, glossaries, and vocabularies reflected a hierarchical vision of nature and human society. By the turn of the twentieth century, the modern dictionary had democratized and politicized language. Compiled "scientifically" through "historical principles," the modern dictionary became a concrete symbol of a nation's arrival on the world stage. Following this phenomenon from the late seventeenth century to the present, Negotiating Languages casts lexicographers as key figures in the political realignment of South Asia under British rule and in the years after independence. Their dictionaries document how a single, mutually intelligible language evolved into two competing registers—Urdu and Hindi—and became associated with contrasting religious and nationalist goals. Each chapter in this volume focuses on a key lexicographical work and its fateful political consequences. Recovering texts by overlooked and even denigrated authors, Negotiating Languages provides insight into the forces that turned intimate speech into a potent nationalist politics, intensifying the passions that partitioned the Indian subcontinent.

This book analyses how a language became the instrument with which the contours of a new nation were traced. Mapping the success of formalized Hindi in creating a regional public sphere in north India in the early twentieth century, the book explores the way many educated Indians, influenced by the British ideas and institutions, expressed interest in new concepts such as progress, unity, and a common cultural heritage. From the development of new codes and institutions to a language that helped to create space for argument and debate, the book gives an overview of the Hindi public sphere. Furthermore, it throws light on the work of Vasudha Dalmia about the nascent Hindi public sphere and brings to light how early-twentieth-century discourses on language, literature, gender, history, and politics form the core of the Hindi culture that exists today.

This tract looks at the politics of language in India through a study of the history of one language Hindi. It traces the tragic metamorphosis of this language over the last century, from a creative, dynamic, popular language to a dead, Sanskritised, dePersianised language manufactured by a self-serving upper caste North Indian elite, nurturing hegemonic ambitions. From being a symbol of collective imagination it became a signifier of narrow sectarianism and regional chauvinism. The tract shows how this trans- formation of the language was tied up with the politics of communalism and regionalism.

This text provides a reader-friendly guide to the structural patterns of modern standard Hindi. Ideal for both independent learners and classroom students alike, this book covers the essentials of Hindi grammar in readable, jargon-free sections. Key features include: sections on the speech sounds of Hindi detailed analysis of Hindi sentence structure full examples throughout.

This is the first academic study of Christian literature in Hindi and its role in the politics of language and religion in contemporary India. In public portrayals, Hindi has been the language of Hindus and Urdu the language of Muslims, but Christians have been usually been associated with the English of the foreign ‘West’. However, this book shows how Christian writers in India have adopted Hindi in order to promote a form of Christianity that can be seen as Indian, desī, and rooted in the religio-linguistic world of the Hindi belt. Using three case studies, the book demonstrates how Hindi Christian writing strategically presents Christianity as linguistically Hindi, culturally Indian, and theologically informed by other faiths. These works are written to sway public perceptions by promoting particular forms of citizenship in the context of fostering the use of Hindi. Examining the content and context of Christian attention to Hindi, it is shown to have been deployed as a political and cultural tool by Christians in India. This book gives an important insight into the link between language and religion in India. As such, it will be of great interest to scholars of Religion in India, World Christianity, Religion and Politics and Interreligious Dialogue, as well as Religious Studies and South Asian Studies.