Author: Daniel KrasaISBN: 9780781813402Publisher: Hippocrene BooksYear first published: 07 Jun 2016Pages: 420 Format: Paperback / softbackUrdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan and one of the official languages ofIndia. It is the first language of about 70 million people and is spoken byover 230 million people worldwide. Urdu is a part of the Hindustani language family,and is mutually intelligible with Hindi. Using the Nasta'liq style of thePersian alphabet, Urdu is traditionally associated with the Muslim populationof the region, while Hindi (using the Devanagari script) is connected with theHindu community. Visitors to Islamic holy cities, such as Mecca, will find signage in Arabic, Urdu, andEnglish.Ideal for businesspeople, travelers, and students, thisdictionary includes: 20,000 dictionary entries, complete with Urdu script and transliteration Phonetics that are intuitive for English speakers Easy-to-use alphabet and pronunciation sections