Hindi-Urdu or Hindustani: Is There a Difference?

Liraz Postan

January 11 , 2020 · 3 min

The Hindustani language was born due to the need for a method of communication between the Persians and the people of India, and the Arabs and the Turks.

In this post, let’s have a look at this language. We’ll start by saying that, if you want to do your own research, you should look up either of these two Spanish words – hindostánico or indostaní. In English, look up Hindustani or Hindi-Urdu.

As with all languages in India, this language belongs to the Indo-European language family, and it’s spoken in the center, the north, and northwest of India.

In explanation, it might be easier to understand when we say that it’s actually a combination of two official languages – the first being Hindi, one of the official languages of India; and Urdu, which is Pakistan’s official language. Hindustani, one of the more widely spoken Indian languages is spoken in Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Guyana, Fiji, and Suriname. To be a little more descriptive, we could say that it’s Neutral Hindi – the one spoken in Bollywood films: Bollywood is India’s equivalent of Hollywood.

The Hindustani language was born due to the need for a method of communication between the Persians and the people of India, and the Arabs and the Turks who, in the 13th century, migrated to the north of India. And because of this, the Hindustani language has benefited from Persian contributions. Below we’ve listed just a few examples of discourse in different areas –

Professions:

dalal – shareholder
chaprasi – common labourer
haqim – physicist

Government:

shahar – city
kasba – town
adalat – court
sipahi – soldier
zila – district
daftar – office

Furniture:

mez -table
kursi -chair

Clothing:

shal – scarf
kamiz – shirt

Cosmetics:

sabun -soap
itra – perfume

Adding Persian Suffixes

The Hindustani language also used Persian suffixes to make new words; meaning that the first part of the term derives from the western Hindi dialect, Khariboli; while the next part comes from Persia.

Here’s an example –
rajmahal – palace: raja = noble + mahal = place, home.

Today we have a simplified variety of Hindustani which you’ll hear in areas where Hindi is not the prevalent language, like in Calcutta and some other cities of India. Many Urdu speakers also use Hindustani to communicate.

Hindustani the Noun –

Hindustani is a dialect of Hindi spoken in Delhi. It’s used as a lingua franca right throughout India;
A group of dialects or languages consisting of all spoken forms of Urdu and Hindi considered together.

Hindustani as an Adjective –

Of, or relating to Hindustan, or the above languages.

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And that’s why at Getblend Translation we only employ the services of experienced, highly qualified translators who are completely familiar with all aspects of languages in their mother tongue.