Hyderabadi Urdu


Hyderabadi Urdu is a variety of Dakhini Urdu, spoken in areas of the former Hyderabad State, corresponding to the Indian state of Telangana, the Marathwada region of Maharashtra and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka.
It is natively spoken by the Hyderabadi Muslims and their diaspora. It contains loan words from Indian languages like Marathi, Telugu, Kannada and foreign languages like Arabic, Turkic and Persian. Hyderabadi is considered to be a northern variety of Dakhini.

History

Distinctive features

Hyderabadi is mutually intelligible with most Hindi/Urdu speakers but has distinctive features from interaction with local Indian Languages such as Marathi, Telugu, and Kannada.

Phonology

The letter is pronounced as an unvoiced velar fricative /x/ with the same pronunciation as whereas in Standard Hindustani dialects the is pronounced as a velar plosive /k/ with the same pronunciation as , or in more educated settings as /q/. For example, the word 'qabar' is pronounced almost identical as 'khabar'.

Lexical features

Distinct vocabulary unique to Hyderabadis:
  • Āra'en - coming; "Ā rahe hain" "" in standard Urdu
  • Čindiyān kardiya - Nailed it
  • Čupke to bī / čupkaič - No reason
  • Hona - to want, instead of "čāhna" in Orthodox Urdu
  • Hao - for yes, instead of "Hān" "".
  • Hallu - Slow
  • Haula - foolish, crazy person
  • Hota ki nai ki - May or may not happen
  • Jāndo - let it go
  • Jāra'un - I am leaving
  • Jāra'en - going; "jā rahe hain" in standard Urdu
  • Kačča - wet; in standard Urdu, wet would be "gīla". "kacha" in standard Urdu means "raw".
  • Kaīkū - why; "kyūn" or "kis li'ē" in standard Urdu.
  • Kaīkū ki - wonder why, who knows why
  • Katey - it is often used when a person mentions something told by someone else. It could be translated as "it seems". Usage: "Kal unay bahar jaara katey" means "It seems he is going outside tomorrow".
  • Kxayāli pulāo - Wishful thinking
  • Kunjī - keys; in standard Urdu, keys would be chābī.
  • Kya toh bī hora - what the hell is happening
  • Lāiṭ liyo - take it easy
  • Mērēku - my, instead of "mujhe" or "mujhko" in standard Urdu
  • Miyān - fellow
  • Nakko - an alternate negative, generally indicating "no", "no thanks" or "don't". It can be used in place of "nahīn", "nā" and "mat" are used where "nakko" is inappropriate for the context or in polite situations.
  • Parsūn - literally it means the day before yesterday or the day after tomorrow but it is widely used for any time in recent past.
  • Phugat - for free, without cost;
  • Poṭṭī - derogatory term for girl
  • Poṭṭā - derogatory term for boy
  • Paintābē - socks; in standard Urdu it would be "mauzē".
  • Tumārē ku - you, instead of tumhen or tumko in standard Urdu
  • Tērē ku - you, instead of tujhe or tujhko in standard Urdu
  • Uney - he/she, instead of woh in standard Urdu.
  • Zyāda nakko kar - don't act over smart
  • The word "ič" is often added after a noun or verb to express the confidence of the action. In standard Urdu, "hī" would be used. For example: "Biryāni'ič lāraun mēn" "". In standard Urdu this would be "Biryāni hī lā rahā hūn main" "".
  • The Urdu word "hai" is often dropped. For example, Urdu "Mujhē mālūm hai" "" would be "Mērē ku mālum" "".
  • Aisich - No reason/without any reason as in "" "I did it without any reason"
  • Uššār - Awake, usually used when asking someone if they are awake, in the way "Uššār Hai kyā" "" meaning "Are you Awake?". It can also mean Intelligent, replacing the standard "Hošiyār",. This May also be pronounced as "Huššār" depending on the part of the city.

    Peculiar features

The suffix "ān" is often used to mark plurality. The letter 'n' is an almost silent nasal stop. For example, Log would become Logān, Bāt would become Bātān, Ādmi pronounced as Admi would become Admiyān, etc. in the Hyderabadi dialect.
While talking, many long a's are pronounced "uh" as in "hut." For example, instead of "ādmi" or "rāsta" in Orthodox Urdu, Hyderabadi would use "admi" and "rasta". Similarly "bhūl" , "ṭūṭ" and "čūṛi'ān" is "bhul", "ṭuṭ" and "čuṛiyān" in Hyderabadi.

Popularity and usage

In the early sixties, film star Mehmood popularized another dialect in Indian films, Dakhni slang, which originates from former Mysore State.
A very famous Guinness record holder drama /stage comedy written in Dakhani is Adrak Ke Punjey. Many Urdu poets also write in the Hyderabadi dialect of Dakhani, including Pagal Adilabadi, Khamakha Hyderabadi and Nukko Hyderabadi.
Hyderabadi gained sudden prominence and recognition in 2006 after the success of the comedy film The Angrez that adopted the dialect. The film's success sparked several other Hyderabadi dialect films including: Kal Ka Nawaab, Hyderabad Nawaabs, Aadab Hyderabad, Gullu Dada, Gullu Dada Returns, Berozgaar, Hungama In Dubai, Daawat-e-Ishq.