urdu
Urdu
Urdu
Essays
- Lots of info on Urdu speakers, dialects, phonology, grammar, script, literature, history & relationships to other languages.
- Article with map on the history, dialects, script, grammar and role in society of Urdu.
- Article on the Urdu script, with a chart of the letters and links.
- Very concise page on the language, dialects, phonology, grammar, writing & resources.
- Short overview of the language, script, vocab & grammar.
- Short article on the Urdu language, culture and current status.
Language Learning Advisor Urdu
- Short article about the history of Urdu, its relationship to European languages and a collection of links.
Courses
Conversational Hindi-Urdu Vol 1, Part 1 & Part 2 by J. J. Gumperz & others, 1962
- Romanised textbook with conversations, cultural notes, pronunciation & grammatical drills and more drills.
Conversational Hindi-Urdu Part 2 (audio) by J. J. Gumperz & others, 1963
-Romanised textbook with conversations, cultural notes, vocabulary, pronunciation & grammatical drills and more drills.
TUFS Language Modules Only available in Japanese
- Huge course teaching Urdu through video & audio; with pronunciation, dialogue, grammar & vocab sections.
Spoken Urdu: A Beginning Course by E. H. Glassman, 1976
- Romanised textbook with grammar expanations, exercises, example sentences and vocabulary & phrase lists.
GLOSS Urdu by the Defense Language Institute
- Improve your Urdu with listening & reading lessons from authentic materials. Intermediate level plus.
Websites
- Reasons for learning Urdu, a brief history of the language, phrases with audio and the alphabet with audio.
- Lists of words and phrases in romanized Urdu and with script. No audio.
Urdu: Some thoughts about the script and grammar
- Lots of articles for students of Urdu about the script and grammar, uses romanization throughout.
Urdu Language Learning Resources
- A nice collection of links, especially good for prose & poetry readings in Urdu.
Script
- 22 lessons gradually introducing the Urdu script, its letters & vocabulary with lots of reading practice.
- Interactive tutorial teaching the alphabet, animations showing how to write the letters, grammar explanations & audio.
- Presents the Urdu script one letter at a time, showing its different forms and how it's written in Devanagari & Perso-Arabic script.
The Urdu Writing System by W. Bright & S. A. Khan, 1958
- Detailed explanations of the Urdu script, with hand-written letters and example words. Scan quality not so great but readable.
E-books
Introductory Urdu Volume 1 (downloadable 1965 version) by C. M. Nain, 1999
- Detailed explanation of the script, grammar notes and glossary for volume 2. Supplementary materials.
Introductory Urdu Volume 2 (downloadable 1965 version) by C. M. Nain, 1999
- Dialogues in Urdu script and romanised notes. No exercises.
A Second Year Urdu Reader by A. Azim & M. H. Khan, 1962
- 5 shorts stories with notes, lots of exercises, vocabulary lists and introductions to the various authors.
Readings in Literary Urdu Prose by G. C. Narang, 1967
- A graded intermediate reader of 18 texts from a variety of sources, with vocabulary notes & introductions to the authors.
Readings in Urdu Prose & Poetry (downloadable version) by C. M. Nain, 1965
- 18 texts with vocabulary and grammatical notes.
Basic Hindi-Urdu (audio only) by Singh & Robinson, 1985
- Recordings of sentences and dialogues in Hindi/Urdu, you will need to book to follow along.
Spoken Hindi-Urdu with Emphasis on Intonation in Natural Conversation (audio only) by S. K. Ghambhir, 1978
- You will probably need the book to follow along, but the English explanations are fairly good.
ウルドゥー語研修テキスト(Urdu Language Training Textbook) by T. Matsumura, 1999 (no. A755)
- Complimentary copies are sometimes available if you e-mail the university.
Podcasts
- 7 lessons so far with accompanying pdf notes.Teaches Urdu using dialogues, breaking it down into vocabulary & grammar points.
Forums
- Active forum with useful discussions on learning Urdu and language resources.
Word Reference Indo-Iranian Languages
- Forum for several different languages together, some useful posts, mostly about particular Urdu words.
- Another active forum with varied discussions, forum lessons etc.
Authentic Materials
- Biographies of prominent Urdu authors and audio readings.
- Video and audio of authentic language in everyday situations, with notes.
Advanced Hindi/Urdu II - Readings in Literature - Poetry
- Online poetry readings with vocabulary lists.
- Interactive ghazal reader with audio, vocabulary assistant for some words and various reading features, such as transliteration.
- One ghazal with interactive reading features such as Devanagari & transliteration help and a glossary.
- Video, radio and news articles in Urdu.
Technical
- Two way dictionary with Urdu written in romanization & script.
A Dictionary of Urdu, Classical Hindi & English by J. T. Platts, 1884
- Urdu/Hindi to English dictionary, allows searching in the 3 languages.
A Dictionary, Hindustani & English by J. Shakespear, 1834
- Hindustani to English dictionary, allows searching in 3 different scripts.
- A Firefox & Windows download and online tool for typing in Urdu. Simple & easy to use.
UniNagari: The simple, no-frills Indic typewriter
- Online tool for typing in Urdu using the online keyboard layout.