Language profiles in Manchester

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Urdu

Language Urdu
Language name transliterated urdū
Language name original script اردو
Distribution Pakistan; India, Bangladesh
Estimated number of speakers worldwide 60m (native), 100m (total)
Language classification Indo-European; Indo-Iranian; Central Indo-Aryan; Hindustani
Related to which languages Hindi, Panjabi, Gujarati, Potwari
Distinctive features in sounds Retroflex sounds (articulated by moving the tongue towards the back of the hard palate); aspirate sounds (require bursts of breath for pronunciation)
Distinctive features in grammar Words are inflected; the verb appears at the end of the sentence; location expressions (‘for’, ‘to’) follow the noun; ergative language
Writing system Arabic-Persian script
Distinctive graphemes پ ٹ چ ڈ ڑ ژ گ ے
Status Official language of Pakistan, regional language in India
Number of persons identifying as “main language” in England & Wales (Census 2011) 268,680
Number of persons identifying as “main language” in Greater Manchester (Census 2011) 31,712
Number of persons identifying as “main language” in City of Manchester (Census (Census 2011) 13,095
Number of persons identifying as “main language” in Greater Manchester as percentage of total in England & Wales (Census 2011) 12%
Number of persons identifying as “main language” in City of Manchester as percentage of total in England & Wales (Census 2011) 5%
Proficiency in English, self-reported in City of Manchester (Census 2011)* Can speak English very well (38%), Can speak English well (43%), Cannot speak English well (17%), Cannot speak English (3%)
Distribution in City of Manchester (Census 2011) Longsight (1977), Cheetham (1880), Gorton South (1316), Levenshulme (1042), Crumpsall (961)
Distribution in Greater Manchester (Census 2011) Rochdale (4,662), Oldham (4,338), Bolton (3,068)
First language of pupils in Manchester schools (2015) 6,950
Distribution in Manchester schools (2015)

 

Abraham Moss High School (587), Levenshulme High School (313), Temple Primary School (302), Birchfields Primary (299), Stanley Grove Primary Academy (235)
Total interpreter requests in Manchester’s GP practices (2014/2015) 2,288
Library loans (2012/2013) 45,065
Library acquisitions (2012/2013) 4,707
M-4 interpreter requests (2012/2013) 2,135
Other home language common among speakers Panjabi, Potwari; Arabic as liturgical language
Supplementary schools Al-Madinah

*Percentages rounded to nearest whole number