URDU LANGUAGE 1

The course offers students the opportunity of approaching study of phonological, morphological and syntactical elements pertaining to the urdu language.
During classes:
- time will be dedicated to the learning and practice of the urdu writing system known as nasta'liq, based on the letters of the ararb-persian alphabet with the addition of some specific grapghical signs characteristic of the Indian languages, i.e. retroflex and aspirated sounds;
- students will acquire a basic vocabulary;
- students will learn to distinguish the peculiar Indian ingredients of urdu and those pertainng to the arabic and persian cultural world;
-emphasis will be given to outline the common elements with hindi and the factors leading to urdu's gradual seperation feom that langauge.

The course offers students the opportunity of approaching study of phonological, morphological and syntactical elements pertaining to the urdu language.
During classes:
- time will be dedicated to the learning and practice of the urdu writing system known as nasta'liq, based on the letters of the ararb-persian alphabet with the addition of some specific grapghical signs characteristic of the Indian languages, i.e. retroflex and aspirated sounds;
- students will acquire a basic vocabulary;
- students will learn to distinguish the peculiar Indian ingredients of urdu and those pertainng to the arabic and persian cultural world;
-emphasis will be given to outline the common elements with hindi and the factors leading to urdu's gradual seperation feom that langauge.

There is no prerequisite for the course.

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;

-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.
-Platts, John T. : A Dictionary of Urdu, Classical Hindi and English, edizioni varie.

Additional material will be provided during classes.

Written assessment of reading, translation, grammatical and logical analysis of morphological and syntactic elements.

Frontal classes complemented by individual study.

Italian

written