Urdu in the United Kingdom
British Urdu | |
---|---|
برطانوی اردو | |
Pronunciation | [ˈbəɾt̪ɑːnʋiː ˈʊrduː] |
Ethnicity | British Asians |
Speakers | 270,000 (2021) |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-1 | ur |
ISO 639-2 | urd |
ISO 639-3 | urd |
Glottolog | urdu1245 Urdu |
Education
History
Britain's Anglophone tradition and inheritance centralises English as the national lingua and vernacular. Radical opportunities exist, however, for the productive growth of minority Commonwealth migrant languages such as Urdu and Punjabi, particularly in curriculum-based education,[5] and many Urdu literary societies exist in the UK,[1]: 334 such as the CU Urdu society.[6] The history of Urdu in British Education can be traced to as early as the 1800s when, under one of its old names, Hindustani,[1] it was being taught to EIC recruits and civil servants, which was mandatory for those wishing to join the Indian Civil Service.[7] For this reason, the East India Company founded the Oriental Institute in London, in 1816.[8]
In Britain, Urdu has been standardised for education, and opportunities to incorporate Urdu as part of teaching exist all the way from primary education to a PhD in Urdu. Urdu books are also widely found in British libraries, where in 1967, Britain's first Urdu library was opened in Nottingham.[8]
England and Wales
In 1841, a grammar school in Gloucester began teaching Urdu to British children, which entailed other institutions to follow, such as the University College, London, followed by the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge by 1859.[1]: 333
Curriculum-wise, students in the UK are able to take Urdu as a
Scotland
Urdu became the first non-European language which was recognised at a Higher level, back in 2006, when the SQA (Scottish Qualifications Authority) incorporated Urdu as a Higher subject for the first time.[16] In 2022, 90 students partook an Urdu exam at Higher level.[17]
Media
Periodicals
1880s-1920s
One of the earliest Urdu periodicals in the UK was established in
Immigration Era Press
The wave of migrants during the 1950s from South Asian countries like India and Pakistan, following World War II, introduced the modern era of Urdu periodicals in Britain. These Urdu papers were distinct in their approach and pattern of ownership and coverage. Urdu papers up until 1965 were all launched by immigrants from Pakistan[19]: 37 and quickly became the source of communication for immigrants from Pakistan and Azad Kashmir, due to the lack of coverage of news in British media regarding their homeland.
Weekly newspapers such as نوائے وقت – Nawa-e-Waqt (The Voice of the Time) published 'overseas editions' that were sent over to Britain, however, due to issues in logistics, it was unable to satisfy demand and eventually collapsed.[19] In 1961, a weekly by the name of مشرق – Mashriq ('The East') was launched by a student, along with an editor of a Pakistani daily. The Mashriq, which published stories from the Pothohar Plateau from London, was embraced by the immigrants at the time, as a source of unity for a various reasons.[20][19]: 27–29
As a modern paper, it introduced advertisements for various industries, such as the Urdu magazines and Urdu cinemas. The paper would print rights on the columns to raise awareness. It continued on until the 1970s, when its decline came about due to the rise of the daily Urdu press.[19] The Mashriq remained as the sole Urdu newspaper in Britain during this period until the launch of the weekly 'Asia' from Birmingham, setup by a Pakistani journalist from Azad Kashmir. It was eventually taken over by 'Mashriq' in 1969 to be turned into a daily in '71, however this again did not last as the paper turned into a weekly a year later, before finally disappearing.
The first non-Pakistani Urdu paper was published by an
21st century
Aside from
Digital Media
Television
Other renowned Urdu television stations, usually based in
Radio
The BBC Urdu service began its radio service back in 1940, when it was known as 'BBC Hindustani', launched to mitigate wartime misinformation. Following the Partition of India, it was renamed to 'BBC Urdu', and continued until 2022 after which it was discontinued.[29][30] Many other radio stations in Urdu are broadcast throughout the UK. A rugby match featuring the Huddersfield Giants was broadcast on a local station with Urdu commentary.[31]
Geographic distribution
The largest Urdu-speaking communities in the UK are predominantly found in
City | Region | Number | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
Birmingham | West Midlands | 25,131 | 2.28% |
Manchester | North West England | 17,672 | 3.31% |
Bradford | Yorkshire and the Humber | 15,270 | 2.91% |
Luton | London | 8,714 | 4.04% |
Redbridge | 8,315 | 2.79% | |
Newham
|
7,438 | 2.21% | |
Bolton | North West England | 7,144 | 2.51% |
Kirklees | Yorkshire and the Humber | 6,857 | 1.64% |
Slough | South East England | 6,497 | 4.28% |
Oldham | North West England | 5,598 | 2.41% |
Rochdale | 5,218 | 2.43% |
Politics
Queen Victoria was taught to write Urdu after requesting her servant Abdul Karim, who had arrived in England to deliver a seal mark celebrating the Queen's Golden Jubilee.[35] She began learning in 1887, and also began keeping a diary written in Urdu, which she called her 'Hindustani Journal', totalling 13 volumes altogether.[36]
When Pakistani-origin Scottish MSP
See also
- List of English words of Hindi or Urdu origin
- Glossary of the British Raj
- Roman Urdu
- BBC Urdu
- Languages of the United Kingdom
Notes
References
- ^ )
- ^ "Language, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
- ^ "Ethnologue report for United Kingdom". Ethnologue. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
- ISBN 9780521794886, retrieved 2023-04-20
- ^ Marsh, David (2012). "Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). A Development Trajectory". University of Córdoba.
- ^ "CU Urdu Society". www.cambridgesu.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
- )
- ^ a b c d Farooqi, Muhammad Aslam (2021-08-05). "برطانیہ میں اردو کی ترقی" [The development of Urdu in Britain]. Adbi Miras (in Urdu). Retrieved 2023-05-02.
- ^ "An investigation of inter-subject comparability in GCSEs and A levels in summer 2021". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
- ^ a b c d Khan, Sara (2011). Language use and attitudes of the British-born Pakistani community in Manchester (PDF). A Dissertation Submitted to the University of Manchester for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts in the Faculty of Humanities (Thesis).
- ^ "Urdu". www.aqa.org.uk. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
- ^ "Edexcel A level Urdu (2018) | Pearson qualifications". qualifications.pearson.com. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
- ^ "UK's first Urdu degree offered by Manchester Metropolitan University". BBC News. 2015-03-27. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
- ^ "How to boost grades? Let Polish pupils sit Polish language exams". The Independent. 2015-08-20. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
- ^ "Grade distributions for GCSE subjects". analytics.ofqual.gov.uk. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
- ^ "Pupils set for Higher Urdu exam". 2006-03-10. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
- ^ https://www.sqa.org.uk/files_ccc/2022-h-course-report-urdu.pdf
- ^ Garcia, Maria Isabel Maldonado. "The Urdu language reforms." Studies 26 (2011): 97.
- ^ OCLC 22907965.
- ^ فتح, پرویز (2022-06-01). "برطانیہ میں محمود ہاشمی جرنلسٹ ایوارڈز". ہم سب (in Urdu). Retrieved 2023-12-12.
- OCLC 20543424.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
- ^ "الفضل لندن، ربوہ، قادیان | جماعت احمدیہ مسلمہ عالمگیر". www.alislam.org. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
- OCLC 551499564.
- )
- ISBN 978-0-415-50880-3.
The Urdu Service reflected the life of the Asian community in Britain for the benefit of target audiences in India and Pakistan. In that sense the service acted as a bridge between the diaspora and their home communities. But it was only in the 1990s, with the emergence of satellite communication, that Asian audiences in Britain acquired much easier access to BBC service for Asia and to Indian and Pakistani TV channels. From the late 1970s, the Urdu service broadcast a number of ambitious feature programmes which reflected the increasingly global character of the Urdu speaking community. For example, after the oil price hike of 1973, the Gulf exploded as a destination for Pakistanis and Indians, many of them in professional jobs but hundreds of thousands employed as laborers with minimal rights.
- ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the originalon 2024-03-31. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
- ^ "ZEE TV UK to extend Urdu content with launch of 'Suno Chanda'". www.bizasialive.com. 2022-05-15. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
- ISBN 9780415508803.
- ^ "After nearly two decades, BBC Urdu ends its radio news bulletins in Pakistan". Arab News. 2022-12-31. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
- ^ Finnegan, Stephanie (2017-02-24). "Multilingual coverage of Huddersfield Giants v Hull FC". Yorkshire Live. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
- ^ "ATLAS - Urdu: Introduction". www.ucl.ac.uk. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
- ^ "'Manchester is Britain's city of languages'". Manchester is Britain’s city of languages. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
- ^ "Language, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
- ^ "Queen Victoria and Abdul: Diaries reveal secrets". BBC News. 14 March 2011.
- ^ "Queen Victoria's Love Story With Urdu". PRATHA. 2021-02-20. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
- ^ "Scotland's first Muslim MSP dies". BBC. 6 February 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
- ^ "Watch: PM of Scotland Humza Yousaf's oath in Urdu as MP in 2016". The Siasat Daily. 2023-04-06. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
Further reading
- "MSPs to take oaths in six languages". news.stv.tv.
- Romanized school dictionary, English and Urdu (in English and Urdu). Calcutta: Calcutta School Book Society. 1816. pp. 182. Archived from the original on October 19, 2018. Retrieved Oct 18, 2018 – via archive.org.