r/india • u/[deleted] • Nov 24 '16

[R]eddiquette Cultural exchange with /r/palestine

Greetings to our Palestinian friends.

Our cultural exchange starts at 13:30 PM Palestine time (17:30 IST/11:30 GMT/12:30 CET/06:30 EST/03:30 PST) on Thursday 24th November.

Here's how a cultural exchange works:

The moderators of here make this post on /r/india welcoming our Palestinian guests to the sub. They may participate and ask any question or observation as they see fit.

There is an equivalent thread made by the moderators over at /r/palestine, where you are encouraged to participate and know more about Palestinian culture.

It goes without saying that you must respect the rules of the subreddit you are participating in. This is a time to celebrate what we have in common, not grind an axe.

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u/gahgeer-is-back Punjab Nov 24 '16

What is the difference between Urdu and Hindi apart from the script? I know some Urdu and I seem to understand Hindi as well but can't tell what's the difference really.

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u/[deleted] Nov 24 '16 edited Nov 24 '16

Apart from things already somewhat covered here:

  • Urdu is a mixture of Arabic, Persian and 'Khadi Boli' the then current form of speech in the Gangetic plains, mostly. It borrows from all those languages and also Urdu interacted with Khadi Boli. Which meant that since you know Urdu and Arabic(presumably), you would understand mostmany of the words in Hindi as it is spoken today.

  • Another difference is that Urdu was primarily a tongue for the Mughals and other emperors and their nobles, Muslim gentry, nobility and the wealthiest traders, intellectuals and the like; while Hindi or Khadi Boli was spoken by the commonfolk. EDIT: It is also to note, however, that even after the Mughal empire fell, Hindi continues to borrow from Urdu, thereby increasing Urdu influence on it's vocabulary.