URDU LANGUAGE

This course intends to provide students with the opportunity to learn a modern Indian language other than hindi but closely related to the latter, that uses the letters of the arabo-persian script system with the addition of a few additional diacritics employed for rendering those sounds peculiar to Indian languages which are absent in the Arabic and Persian languages. Through the study of its grammar and sentence structure, students will be made aware of the common elements of urdu and hindi while at the same time major emphasis will be given to the study of those elements present in urdu, which distinguish it from its sister-language hindi, in both writing and speaking.

The course intends to put students in the condition to know, recognize and actively employ the basic notions of urdu's grammar and sentence structure, so as to enable them to access autonomously through reading and translating simple texts. Moreover, the course should enable students to get a clearer and more complete picture of the linguistic variety of the South Asian environment and the closely related cultural (and political) implications involved in issues concerning language in that part of the world.

A preliminary knowledge of basic notion of the Hindi language is helpful, but not essential.

Notions of grammar and sentence structure (syntax), based on the chapters in the textbook Grammatica Urdu, Hoepli, see bibliography):
-the writing system: main features and characteristics: vowels and consonants, their phonetic value and their graphical aspect, use and purpose of special signs;
-nouns and adjectives: use and main characteristics; use of Persian affixes;
the personal pronoun: basic morphology and the use of the verb 'hona' (to be);
-the verb: verb stem and infinite mode, present and imperfect indicative and the use of the progressive tense;
-simple and composed postpositions and their relation to Persian and Arabic prepositions;
-the oblique case of personal nouns: general characteristics and particular features;
-how to contract the verb 'to have';
-verbal tenses derived from the past participle and the ergative construction;
-some verbs derived from the past participle and the ergative construction;
-indefinite pronouns and adjectives;

1) Reference Grammar and textbook used during the course:

-Dahnhardt T., Graziani, I. (2014): Grammatica della Lingua Urdu, Milano, Ulrico Hoepli editore. ISBN 978-88-203-5970-6
-Schmidt, Ruth Laila (1999): Urdu: an essential grammar, Routledge: London and New York.

Dictionaries:

-Haqqee, Shanul Haq (1995): Oxford English-Urdu Dictionary, Oxford University Press.
-Platts, John T. : A dictionary of Urdu, Classical Hindi and English, various editions.

The written exam will consist of two parts: a series of exercises based on sentences containing specific grammatical elements touched upon during the course and a second part consisting of the translation of a short text passage from Urdu into Italian (or English).
Duration of the written exam: 3 hours.

Frontal classes complemented by regular reading and translation sessions involving students' active participation.

Italian

Students are strongly advised to attend classes regularly and punctually.

written

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Cities, infrastructure and social capital" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development