Urdu

Urdu (ur, Hindi: उर्दू ; ˈʊrduː) is a Central Indo-Aryan language of the Indo-Iranian branch, belonging to the Indo-European family of languages. It is one of the two official languages (the other being English) of Pakistan. It is also one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of five Indian states. Its vocabulary developed under Persian, Arabic and Turkic. In modern times Urdu vocabulary has been significantly influenced by English. Urdu was mainly developed in western Uttar Pradesh, India, which is the seat of Hindustani languages in the Indian Subcontinent, but began taking shape during the Delhi Sultanate as well as Mughal Empire (1526–1858) in South Asia. Urdu is the means of communication between the people from various provinces and regions of Pakistan, and the Pakistanis and Indians too. Due to historical affinities and a large number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, Urdu is already read, understood and spoken by most Afghans.