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Nida Mehmood, an investment law consultant from Lahore, espouses the role of language as a “tool” for communication and order in society and specifically addresses the evolving nature of language, in the context of Urdu.
The entire article can be accessed here: http://www.nation.com.pk/columns/16-Sep-2013/linguistically-yours
A relevant excerpt:
Urdu is not “dying” as is often alleged rather, it is “evolving” in a way that is unprecedented. Perhaps this explains why the evolution of Urdu has not been recognized and instead claims of its death have been made. The unprecedented evolution of Urdu came along with advent of the Information Age which has had an influence on our lives in ways that we could not even have imagined. The internet has given birth to a “new kind of Urdu” popularly called “Roman Urdu”. Not that Romans have got anything to do with this but apparently that is how the new form of Urdu has come to be known. In this form, the traditional letters of Urdu have been replaced by English alphabets which the generation and youth of today relate more easily to. They comprehend it and above all use it quite naturally in the daily sphere of their lives when they communicate online or otherwise. Whether this trend is a good thing or a bad thing is a separate issue that is open for debate but the reality that this evolution and change to Urdu language has happened and is going on happening is a reality that you and I cannot deny in this day and age.
It is therefore, advisable to embrace this change in a way that it can be directed towards achieving a constructive outcome rather than deny it and feel remorse at the death of a language that has in fact evolved. I suggest we adopt Roman Urdu as a language and even go to the extent of translating traditional Urdu writings into this evolved version of Urdu for our current generation to relate to, thus making the language hold appeal for the needs of the current generation. In this way, at least the ‘spirit’ of the language may be preserved and transferred, if not the ‘form’.
i agree with this entirely. Languages should evolve and thereby become better.