Hindustani language
Scholars trace the language's first written poetry to the Delhi Sultanate era around the twelfth and thirteenth century. Amir Khusrow, who lived in the thirteenth century during the Delhi Sultanate period in North India, used these forms in his writings and referred to it as Hindavi. The military exploits of Alauddin Khalji introduced the language in the Deccan region by the end of that century. This led to the development of its southern dialect known as Deccani. The Mughal Empire succeeded the Delhi Sultanate in 1526. Persian had gradually become the state language of the Mughal empire after Babur. Hindustani began to take shape as a Persianised vernacular during the Delhi Sultanate from 1206 to 1526 AD. It retained the grammar and core Sanskritic vocabulary of the local Indian language called Khariboli. As an emerging common dialect, Hindustani absorbed large numbers of Persian, Arabic, and Turkic loanwords. The language was also known as Rekhta or 'mixed'. Its major centres of development included the Mughal courts of Delhi, Lucknow, Agra and Lahore.
The standardised registers Hindi and Urdu are collectively known as Hindi, Urdu. Standard Hindi is usually written in the indigenous Devanagari script of India. Urdu is written in the Nastaliq style of the Urdu alphabet, an extended Perso-Arabic script incorporating Indic phonemes. The call for a distinct Sanskritised standard of Hindustani written in Devanagari became increasingly politicised around 1880. John Fletcher Hurst published a book in 1891 mentioning that the Hindustani or camp language of the Mughal Empire's courts at Delhi was not regarded by philologists as a distinct language. The term Urdu appeared around 1780. It is believed to have been coined by the poet Mashafi. In 1796, John Borthwick Gilchrist published 'A Grammar of the Hindoostanee Language'. Upon partition, India and Pakistan established national standards that they called Hindi and Urdu respectively. Before 1947, Hindustani was officially recognised by the British Raj. In the post-independence period however, the term Hindustani has lost currency. The language is instead recognised by its standard forms, Hindi and Urdu.
Hindustani phonology is characterized by a symmetrical ten-vowel system where vowels are distinguished by length. Long vowels typically being tense and short vowels lax. The language also includes nasalized vowels. It maintains a four-way phonation distinction among plosives. Hindustani contains around 5,500 words of Persian and Arabic origin. There are quite a few words borrowed from English. Some words were borrowed from other European languages such as Portuguese and Dutch. Persian affixes became so assimilated that they were used with original Khari Boli words. A common vernacular sharing characteristics with Sanskritised Hindi and regional Hindi exists. Minor subtleties in region will also affect the brand of Hindustani. One might reasonably assume that the Hindustani spoken in Lucknow is somewhat different from that spoken in Varanasi. The grammar and base vocabulary of both Hindi and Urdu derive from a Prakritic base. Both have Persian/Arabic influence.
As of 2025, Hindi and Urdu together constitute the third-most-spoken language in the world after English and Mandarin. This figure represents 855 million native and second-language speakers according to Ethnologue. A sizeable population in Afghanistan can speak and understand Hindi, Urdu due to the popularity of Bollywood films. Many Afghan refugees spent time in Pakistan in the 1980s and 1990s. Fiji Hindi was derived from the Hindustani linguistic group and is spoken widely by Fijians of Indian origin. Hindustani was one of the languages that was spoken widely during British rule in Burma. Many older citizens of Myanmar still know it. Hindustani is also spoken in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council where migrant workers live and work for several years. In Canada, Hindustani is one of the fastest growing languages. It is understood fairly well in other regions also, especially in the urban areas.
The predominant Indian film industry Bollywood is located in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It uses Standard Hindi, colloquial Hindustani, Bombay Hindi, Urdu, Awadhi, Rajasthani, Bhojpuri, and Braj Bhasha along with Punjabi. Scripts and soundtrack lyrics often feature the liberal use of English or Hinglish. Film titles are often screened in three scripts: Latin, Devanagari and occasionally Perso-Arabic. Historical films set in the Delhi Sultanate or Mughal Empire are almost entirely in Urdu. Films based on Hindu mythology make heavy use of Hindi with Sanskrit vocabulary. The vernacular of North Indians and Pakistanis generally employs a lexicon common to both Hindi and Urdu speakers. In recent years, boycotts have been launched against Bollywood films by Hindu nationalists. Some critics employ the epithet 'Urduwood'. The language was used as a lingua franca among the educated elite upper class particularly in northern India during the 18th century. The term Hindustani has been used for the colloquial language of Bollywood films which cannot be unambiguously identified as either Hindi or Urdu.
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Common questions
When did Hindustani language first appear in written poetry?
Scholars trace the language's first written poetry to the Delhi Sultanate era around the twelfth and thirteenth century. Amir Khusrow used these forms in his writings during the thirteenth century.
Who coined the term Urdu for the Hindustani language?
The term Urdu appeared around 1780 and is believed to have been coined by the poet Mashafi. John Borthwick Gilchrist published A Grammar of the Hindoostanee Language in 1796.
How many speakers use Hindi and Urdu together as of 2025?
As of 2025, Hindi and Urdu together constitute the third-most-spoken language in the world after English and Mandarin. This figure represents 855 million native and second-language speakers according to Ethnologue.
Which script does Standard Hindi use compared to Urdu?
Standard Hindi is usually written in the indigenous Devanagari script of India. Urdu is written in the Nastaliq style of the Urdu alphabet, an extended Perso-Arabic script incorporating Indic phonemes.
What historical period influenced the development of Deccani dialect?
The military exploits of Alauddin Khalji introduced the language in the Deccan region by the end of the thirteenth century. This led to the development of its southern dialect known as Deccani during the Delhi Sultanate period.