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Seems I am "gamaaru" (stupid/ignorant) not only when it comes to dealing with technology (https://hilath.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-unsubtle-art-of-dealing-with.html) but identifying things that have been glaring at me in the face right from my childhood.
So it happened that one of my Maldivian female friends recently told me she understands both Hindi and Urdu and I asked her if there's any difference because to me it sounds like the same language from the Indian Subcontinent in South Asia!
She said it's different and hence I decided to hit ChatGPT.
Below is my question and the answer the chatbot generated:
What is the difference between Hindi and Urdu?
Hindi and Urdu are two closely related languages that share a common linguistic and cultural heritage. However, there are some differences between them, primarily in terms of script, vocabulary, and, to some extent, pronunciation.
Here are some key distinctions between Hindi and Urdu:
1. Script:
- Hindi: Hindi is typically written in the Devanagari script, which is an abugida (a writing system where each character represents a consonant with an inherent vowel sound that can be modified with diacritics). Devanagari script is used to write several Indian languages, including Hindi, Sanskrit, and others.
- Urdu: Urdu is written in the Perso-Arabic script, which is an abjad (a writing system that represents consonants but not vowels). The script is similar to Arabic and Persian and includes additional diacritics to represent vowels and specific sounds found in Urdu.
2. Vocabulary:
- Vocabulary in Hindi and Urdu largely overlaps, with a significant portion of their vocabulary being the same or very similar. However, there are also words in each language that have been borrowed or influenced by other languages. Hindi tends to borrow more from Sanskrit and other Indian languages, while Urdu has been influenced by Persian and Arabic.
3. Pronunciation:
- Pronunciation differences between Hindi and Urdu are mainly related to accent and accentuation rather than fundamental phonetic differences. Speakers of the two languages may have distinct accents, which can affect the way words are pronounced, but the core phonetics are largely similar.
4. Diglossia:
- In some regions and contexts, Hindi and Urdu are considered to be two standardized registers of the same language, often referred to as "Hindi-Urdu." This diglossic situation means that speakers can understand and communicate with each other using their respective registers, even if they are not fluent in the other.
5. Cultural Associations:
- Hindi is often associated with Hindu culture and is one of the official languages of India. It is widely spoken in northern and central India.
- Urdu is associated with Islamic culture and is one of the official languages of Pakistan. It is also spoken in parts of India, especially in the northern states, and has a significant presence in South Asian Muslim communities around the world.
It's important to note that many speakers of Hindi and Urdu are bilingual or multilingual and can switch between the two languages depending on the context and their interlocutors. The linguistic differences between Hindi and Urdu can sometimes be subtle, and mutual intelligibility between speakers of the two languages is quite high.
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