Hindoostani language
- noun
- UK
:
idioma hindostaní
- Linguists trace the evolution of standard Hindi and Urdu back to the Hindoostani language spoken around Delhi.
Examples
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The British administration often taught their officers basic Hindoostani language to communicate with locals.
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During the 19th century, many poets wrote in Hindoostani language, blending Hindi and Urdu vocabulary.
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The Hindoostani language has influenced many modern dialects.
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Is the Hindoostani language still spoken today?
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During the 19th century, many poets wrote in Hindoostani language, which blended elements of both Hindi and Urdu.
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Linguists trace the evolution of modern Hindi and Urdu back to the Hindoostani language that was commonly spoken around Delhi.
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The British administration often included basic Hindoostani language lessons for their officers to facilitate communication with local populations.
Synonyms
A language spoken around Delhi that is the base of modern Hindi and Urdu
A form of Hindi and Urdu spoken mainly in northern India
A form of Hindi spoken around Delhi and northern India that came before modern Hindi and Urdu
An older form of Hindi people spoke around Delhi to talk across northern India
A form of Hindi spoken around Delhi and used as a common language in northern India
Surface Forms
Morphology
This phrase is compositionally built from a proper-name adjective 'Hindoostani' (referring to a historical form of Hindi) plus the noun 'language', so its meaning — the language called Hindoostani — is directly derivable from the parts. The pattern proper-name + language is cross-linguistically common and follows standard noun-naming conventions, making it immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows the constituents.
Etymology
The noun Hindoostani language comes from the old name 'Hindustan' for northern India. It was the common speech around Delhi where people from different groups mixed words, so Hindoostani language now refers to the shared base of modern Hindi and Urdu.
