*edited* Any thoughts from Urdu speakers on Urdu in Bollywood songs?

This is to discuss Urdu pronunciation in Bollywood songs.

Do you know the Urdu talaffuz?

If yes:

1. Which singers do/don't follow the Urdu talaffuz?

2. Any song that ever jumped out due to its talaffuz?

Note: Modified post as it was getting derailed in unintended directions

Interesting topic! Give example please where you felt Arijit did it well and Udit Naryan botched it!

Originally posted by: Rhimjhimsawan

Interesting topic! Give example please where you felt Arijit did it well and Udit Naryan botched it!

Listen to Udit say Khuda here. He is saying खुदा instead of ख़ुदा (1:14 mark). But in some places he's correctly pronouncing ख़ुदा (1:05 & 1:20). I randomly searched so it's not a good example, but I remember him botching in other songs too.

https://youtu.be/JhbP5vcklgA

Listen to Arijit Singh pronounce khuda here:

https://youtu.be/UyNEMDE4-io

Best of all, I love Arijit's diction in Bint-e-dil:

https://youtu.be/9aoUpCXY7uk

Better example of Udit botching. I'm pretty sure he's mispronouncing khushboo. 😊

https://youtu.be/n_oP9Onj0r0

Originally posted by: tapori

Better example of Udit botching. I'm pretty sure he's mispronouncing khushboo. 😊

Would you prefer Sugandh instead ? 😆

I dont really know what tallafffuzza - whatever means , so nothing OT .. Although , i would like to point out that there are different versions of Hindi .. So "correct pronounciation" doesnt exist .. Its all subjective ..

I mean different people have different accents. As long as they’re saying the word and we are getting it - isn’t that sufficient ?

Originally posted by: tapori

Of course. We are all free to pronounce as we want to. There is absolutely no harm in that. You can write ok instead of okay, and that's okay!

Sometimes mispronunciation can cause confusion. E.g. ख़ुदा means GOD, whereas खुदा means it's dug up.

You should change your username from Tapori to Shakespeare. 😆

Originally posted by: tapori

Hindi is the language I consider myself most deft in (even though its not my mother tongue). Having studied Sanskrit, I had the misconception I had a mastery on the spoken language. So imagine my shock, when it was in adulthood that I realized I was pronouncing the Persian & Arabic loanwords incorrectly in Hindi. Even the most basic of words.

So, e.g., I always pronounced क़लम as कलम, ग़रीब as गरीब, and so on, without even realizing it.

As soon as I learnt this, the first thing that came to my mind was the dialogue most used in hindi movies - apne aap ko qanoon ke havaale kardo. I would always notice the "Qanoon" was pronounced differently, never really understanding what the difference was.

Now the thing is, spoken word is most immortalized by songs. When you sing a song, you put a canon out there. Which makes the pronunciation most important there. So my question to you would be, which Bollywood singers use the correct talaffuz for these persian/arabic words, and which ones are the biggest culprits in botching them up.

In my limited knowledge, I would like to think that Arijit Singh tries to pronounce accurately. Udit Narayan botches it up. Your valuable thoughts most welcome!

Note: If a discussion has already been had on this, please do point me there.

Originally posted by: tapori

Unfortunately it does if the letters are different. So you won't call a dog a bog right? Similarly क़लम shouldn't be called कलम.

If someone calls a dog , a bog - it is a different language altogether , not English ..

If someone calls क़लम , a कलम - it is still Hindi.

Your analogy is flawed.

I repeat "correct pronounciation " is subjective .. There are various versions of Hindi .. Take a pick and stay content instead going all Shakespeare on everyone's a$$ .. 😆

Originally posted by: Lazybird_Silpa

what is the difference between the two pronunciations? sound same to me

Can you feel the "khakhaar" (throaty sound) in the way kha is pronounced? Btw, that's also the right way to also pronounce Khan. It's ख़ान and not खान. 😊