Hindustani, also known as Hindi-Urdu, is the vernacular form of two standardized registers used as official languages in India and Pakistan, namely Hindi and Urdu. It comprises several closely related dialects in the northern, central and northwestern parts of the Indian subcontinent but is mainly based on Khariboli of the Delhi region. As an Indo-Aryan language, Hindustani has a core base that traces back to Sanskrit but as a widely-spoken lingua franca, it has a large lexicon of loanwords, acquired through centuries of foreign rule and ethnic diversity.
Standard Hindi derives much of its formal and technical vocabulary from Sanskrit while standard Urdu derives much of its formal and technical vocabulary from Persian and Arabic (and even from the Turkic languages to some extent). Standard Hindi and Urdu are used primarily in public addresses and radio or TV news, while the everyday spoken language is one of the several varieties of Hindustani, whose vocabulary contains words drawn from Persian, Arabic, and Sanskrit. In addition, spoken Hindustani includes words from English, the Dravidian languages, and the Sino-Tibetan languages; as well as several others.
Hindustani developed over several centuries throughout much of the northern subcontinent including the areas that comprise modern-day India, Pakistan, and Nepal. In the same way that the core vocabulary of English evolved from Old English (Anglo-Saxon) but assimilated many words borrowed from French and other languages (whose pronunciations often changed naturally so as to become easier for speakers of English to pronounce), what may be called Hindustani can be said to have evolved from Sanskrit while borrowing many Persian and Arabic words over the years, and changing the pronunciations (and often even the meanings) of these words to make them easier for Hindustani speakers to pronounce. Many Persian words entered the Hindustani lexicon due to the influence of the Mughal rulers of north India, who followed a very Persianised culture and also spoke Persian. Many Arabic words entered Hindustani via Persian, which had previously been assimilated into the Persian language due to the influence of Arabs in the area. The dialect of Persian spoken by the Mughal ruling elite was known as 'Dari', which is the dialect of Persian spoken in modern-day Afghanistan. Therefore, Hindustani is the naturally developed common language of north India. This article will deal with the separate categories of Hindustani words and some of the common words found in the Hindustani language.
Categorization Hindustani words, apart from loans, basically derive from two linguistic categories: Indo-Aryan (words classified by grammarians as tadbhava, or "inherited"): Shauraseni Prakrit and its apabhraṃśa, or "corrupted", vernaculars at pp. 67-69. Non-Indo-Aryan (words classified by grammarians as dēśaja, or "indigenous"): Austroasiatic (Munda) languages, as well as Dravidian and Sino-Tibetan languages
According to the traditional categorization in Hindi (as well in other languages of India), direct loanwords from Sanskrit are classed as tatsama ( "as it is, same as therein") and vidēśī ( "foreign, non-native") for non-Sanskrit loans,Masica, p. 65 such as those from Persian, Arabic, Turkic, Portuguese, French or English, respectively contrasting with tadbhava and dēśaja words.
The most common words in Hindustani are tadbhavas.
Examples of derivations
Second person pronouns
In Hindustani, the pronoun āp (आप ) "[one]self", originally used as a third person honorific plural, denotes respect or formality (politeness) and originates from Prakrit 𑀅𑀧𑁆𑀧𑀸 appā, which derived from Sanskrit ātman, which refers to the higher self or level of consciousness.
The pronoun tū (तू ) and its grammatically plural form tum (तुम ) (also the second person honorific plural) denote informality, familiarity or intimacy and originate respectively from tuhuṃ and tumma from Prakrit 𑀢𑀼𑀁 tuṃ and its variant 𑀢𑀼𑀫𑀁 tumaṃ, which derived from Sanskrit tvam, nominative singular of युष्मद् yuṣmad (the base of the second person plural pronoun). In modern usage, tū is widely used to display a range of attitudes depending on the context, from extreme informality (impoliteness) to extreme intimacy to outright disrespect and even extreme reverence. Usage of tū in most contexts is considered highly offensive in the formal register except when addressing God as a display of spiritual intimacy. This is very similar to the usage of "thou" in archaic English and many other Indo-European languages showing T–V distinction.
Present "be" verb
One of the most common words in Hindustani, the copula hai (है ) and its plural form haiṉ (हैं ) − present forms of hōnā (होना , meaning "to be" and originating from Prakrit 𑀪𑁄𑀤𑀺 bhodi derived from Sanskrit bhavati "to happen") − rather originate from the following developments:
Sanskrit asti ("to be"; root as) evolves into Prakrit 𑀅𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀺 atthi, which further develops into ahi Ahi evolves into Old Hindi ahai (अहै ; pronounced /əɦəɪ/, not /əɦɛː/ as in Hindustani)
Shortening of ahai occurred in Hindustani resulting in hai probably to fulfill the symmetry of the other grammatical forms of hōnā. Ahai can be found in some older works of Hindustani literature and its evidence can also be seen in other closely related Indo-Aryan languages such as Marathi (आहे āhē) or Sindhi (آهي āhē).
Perfective "go" verb
The verb jānā (जाना , "to go"), which originates from Prakrit 𑀚𑀸𑀤𑀺 jādi derived from Sanskrit yāti ("to move"; root yā), however has its perfective form originating from another Prakrit word 𑀕𑀬 gaya derived from Sanskrit gata, past participle of gacchati ("to go"; root gam or gacch), for example, in gayā (गया , "went, gone").
Some other words
The word ājā (आजा ) has also been used in Northern India and Pakistan for "grandfather". It is indeed derived from arya meaning "sir" in this case. Jain nuns are addressed either as Aryika or Ajji.
The word dādā (दादा ) also has a similar meaning which varies by region. It is used in some regions for "father", in other regions for "older brother", or even for "grandfather" in other regions. This word is an amalgam of two sources:
Sanskrit tāta used to address intimate persons which means either "sir" or "dear". Tau meaning "father's older brother" is also derived from tāta.
The word baṛā (बड़ा "older, bigger, greater") is derived from the Sanskrit vr̥ddha through Prakrit vaḍḍha.
Desi words
The term desi words is used to describe the component of the lexicon in Indo-Aryan languages which is non-Indo-Aryan in origin, but native to other language families of the Indian subcontinent. Examples of desi words in Hindustani include: lōṭā (लोटा ) "lota (water vessel)", kapās (कपास ) "cotton", kauṛī (कौड़ी ) "cowrie (shell money)", ṭhēs (ठेस ) "wound, injury", jhaṇḍā (झंडा ) "flag", mukkā (मुक्का ) "fist, punch", lakṛī (लकड़ी ) "wood", ṭharrā (ठर्रा ) "tharra (liquor)", čūhā (चूहा ) "mouse, rat", čūlhā (चूल्हा ) "stove, oven", pagṛī (पगड़ी ) "turban", luṅgī (लुंगी ) "lungi (sarong)", ghōṭālā (घोटाला ) "scam", dāṇḍī (दांडी ) "salt", jhōlā (झोला ) "bag, satchel", ṭakkar (टक्कर ) "crash, collision, confrontation", kākā (काका ) "paternal uncle", uṭpaṭāṅg/ūṭpaṭāṅg (उटपटांग/ऊट-पटांग ) "ludicrous", ḍabbā/ḍibbā (डब्बा/डिब्बा ) "box, container" and jhuggī (झुग्गी ) "hut"
Onomatopoeic words Nouns: gaṛbaṛ (गड़बड़ ) "disorder, disturbance", dhaṛām (धड़ाम ) "thud", bakbak (बक-बक ) "chatter/chitter-chatter", khusur pusar (खुसुर-पुसर ) "whisper", jhilmil (झिलमिल ) "shimmer", ṭhakṭhak (ठक-ठक ) "knock knock", khaṭpaṭ (खटपट ) "quarrel, disagreement"Verbs: khaṭkhaṭānā (खटखटाना ) "to knock", gaḍgaḍānā (गडगडाना ) "to rumble, to fuss", jagmagānā (जगमगाना ) "to shine/glitter", hinhinānā (हिनहिनाना ) "to neigh", phusphusānā (फुसफुसाना ) "to whisper"Adjectives and Adverbs: čaṭpaṭ (चट-पट ) "in a jiffy", tharthar (थर-थर ) "with jerky motion (characteristic of shaking or trembling)", čaṭpaṭā (चटपटा ) "dextrous, spicy", čipčipā (चिपचिपा ) "sticky, slimy", čiṛčiṛā (चिड़चिड़ा ) "irritable", gaṛbaṛiyā (गड़बड़िया ) "chaotic, messy"
Loanwords
Due to the language's status as a lingua franca, Hindustani's vocabulary has a large inventory of loanwords, the largest number of which are adopted from Punjabi. Punjabi borrowings often bear sound changes from the parent Prakrit and Sanskrit vocabulary which did not occur in Hindustani, particularly the preservation of short vowels in initial syllables and the gemination of the following consonant. A certain amount of vocabulary from other South Asian languages, Persian, Arabic, and English has been loaned indirectly into Hindustani through Punjabi. Other Indic languages which exist in a state of diglossia with Hindustani and are prone to mutual borrowing include Rajasthani, the Western Pahari languages, Haryanvi, Bhojpuri, Marathi, Nepali, and Gujarati. Besides these, common sources of loan words include those manually adopted from Classical Sanskrit, Classical Persian, Arabic, Chagatai Turkic, Portuguese and English, as well as Mandarin Chinese and French to a lesser extent.
Classical Sanskrit
Phonetic alterations
Many Classical Sanskrit words which were not learned borrowings underwent phonetic alterations. In the vernacular form, these include the merger of Sanskrit श (śa) and ष (ṣa), ण (ṇa) and न (na) as well as ऋ (r̥) and रि (ri). Other common alterations were s͟h [/ʃ/] (श ) becoming s [/s/] (स ), v/w [/ʋ/, /w/] (व ) becoming b [/b/] (ब ) and y [/j/] (य ) becoming j [/dʒ/] (ज ). Short vowels were also sometimes introduced to break up consonant clusters. Such words in Hindi (and all other Indo-Aryan languages except Urdu, Lisan ud-Dawat, Dobhashi, etc.) are called ardhatatsama ().
Hindustani Meaning Sanskrit Corresponding Persian and Arabic loan ardhatatsam tatsam baras (बरस ) varṣ () year वर्ष (varṣa) sāl (साल ), san (सन ) des (देस ) deś () country देश (deśa) mulk (मुल्क ), vatan (वतन ) bāsī (बासी ) vāsī () inhabitant वासी (vāsī) bās͟hindā (बाशिन्दा ) jantar (जन्तर ) yantra () device यन्त्र (yantra) ālā (आला ) janam (जनम ) janm () birth जन्म (janma) paidā'is͟h (पैदाइश )
Classical Persian Persian words which were not later artificially added were loaned from Classical Persian (and perhaps, even from the Early New Persian), the historical variety of the tenth, eleventh and twelfth centuries, which continued to be used as literary language and lingua franca under the Persianate dynasties of the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Era and is not the same as Iranian Persian (though the Dari Persian of Afghanistan is a direct descendant).
Borrowings Persian loanwords in Hindustani are mainly borrowed nouns and adjectives as well as adverbs and conjunctions and some other parts of speech.
Hindustani Meaning Persian Corresponding Sanskrit loan sāyā (साया ) shadow/shade سایه (sāya) čhāyā (छाया ) pares͟hān (परेशान ) anxious پرِیشان (parēšān) čintit (चिन्तित ) hames͟hā (हमेशा ) always/forever همِیشه (hamēša) sadaiv (सदैव ), sadā (सदा ) k͟hus͟hī (ख़ुशी ) happiness خوشی (xwašī) ānand (आनन्द ), sukh (सुख ) sabzī (सब्ज़ी ) vegetable سبزی (sabzī) sāg (साग ), s͟hāk (शाक ) mehrbān (मेहरबान ) kind مهربان (mihrbān) dayālu (दयालु ), karuṇāmaya (करुणामय کرُنامیَ) agar (अगर ) if اگر (agar) yadi (यदि ) dīvār (दीवार ) wall دیوار (dīwār) bhīt (भीत ) darvāzā (दरवाज़ा ) door/gate دروازه (darwāza) dwār (द्वार ) andar (अंदर ) inside/in اندر (andar) bhītar (भीतर ) tāzā (ताज़ा ) fresh تازه (tāza) nirjar (निर्जर ), jarhīn (जरहीन جرہین) roz (रोज़ ) day روز (rōz) din (दिन ), diwas (दिवस دِوس) s͟hahr (शहर ) city شهر (šahr) nagar (नगर ) hind (हिंद/हिन्द ) India هند (hind) bhārat (भारत ) ki (कि ) that (conjunction) که (ki) - vāh (वाह ) wow واه (wāh) -
From stems:
Present: