BWL Posted September 26, 2013 Report Share Posted September 26, 2013 When I was learning Urdu, I noticed some very Persian-style grammatical constructions like "Jaan-e-man" or "shikayat-e-dil" or "manzil-e-ishq" commonly used especially in songs and poetry. How common are phrases like these used in spoken Hind? I hear them very often in Bollywood songs but not so much in spoken language. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meera Posted September 26, 2013 Report Share Posted September 26, 2013 Technically standard Urdu gets it's higher vocabulary from Persian and Arabic while Hindi gets it from Sanskrit. However I think a lot songs use Persian-y Urdu because it often sounds more poetic. In my experience many Hindi speakers can understand the higher Urdu vocabulary (I guess from songs) but Urdu speakers can't understand the higher Hindi vocabulary. I don't think Hindi speakers use these higher Urdu vocabulary in everyday speech. (I could be wrong) But when I watch Hindi serials and news programs I don't hear them. However, if the show revolves around Muslims, for example the show "Qabool Hai" I often hear more Persian words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BWL Posted September 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2013 Yes I totally agree about the show "Qabool Hai". Yes, on the other hand spoken Hindi does use many simple common Persian and Arabic words like "kitaab", "jaadoo", "kaghaz", "avaaz", "darwaza" etc. Formal Urdu uses even more of these words. I can see what you mean by the poetic use of Urdu in songs. I understand some Farsi and Arabic and I notice that the pronunciation of these borrowed words in Urdu (and in Hindi) is a lot softer, smoother and less guttural than in the original source languages (especially Arabic words with all the ains, ghains, qafs, daads and other harsh sounds). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcgamer Posted September 27, 2013 Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 No, these phrases are not common at all. People will think you have gone mad if you start using these phrases. It was used in songs so often back in 1960s. Songs like "Haye tawajjum tera, dhup khil gayi raat main' are popular because of clever choice of Urdu words. We don't use Urdu in songs anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meera Posted September 27, 2013 Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 Yes I totally agree about the show "Qabool Hai". Yes, on the other hand spoken Hindi does use many simple common Persian and Arabic words like "kitaab", "jaadoo", "kaghaz", "avaaz", "darwaza" etc. Formal Urdu uses even more of these words. Yeah a lot of words were passed from Persian and Arabic into Hindi. The phrase Shadi-Shuda which is widely used in Hindi comes from Persian. Maybe not the "shadi"part but shuda comes from the Persian verb "shodan" to become. I know some "purist" Hindi speakers will try to substitute the Persian words for Sanskritic ones, for example they will say "pustak" for book instead of "kitaab" but I don't think it's that common. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpiralArchitect Posted September 28, 2013 Report Share Posted September 28, 2013 While a lot of Persian words have indeed been integrated in the Indian language and are in common usage, out and out Urdu words like you mentioned are only found in songs. So, you will surely find everyone using words like kitaab, no one will be talking about manzil-e-ishq. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcgamer Posted September 29, 2013 Report Share Posted September 29, 2013 While a lot of Persian words have indeed been integrated in the Indian language and are in common usage, out and out Urdu words like you mentioned are only found in songs. So, you will surely find everyone using words like kitaab, no one will be talking about manzil-e-ishq.Yes, no one has ever used these words in India except muslims. Even they don't use these words anymore. However, I think these words are still used in Pakistan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BWL Posted September 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2013 Interesting! I think I head "khud-khushi" from a movie as well (I can't remember the title). There does seem to be a lot of Persian and Arabic words (simple words and not complex phrases) borrowed into Hindi. I've been asked by North Indian friend whether I was a "shadi-shuda" before and I gave him a blank stare! Now I know what it means and where it came from! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashwinr1 Posted September 29, 2013 Report Share Posted September 29, 2013 Although I do not know the languages, am aware that both Hindi and Urdu are quite similar. Urdu is primarily used by Muslims in their spiritual books and we can those sayings in Urdu as wall hangings in their homes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.