Comprehensive Website

Created and maintained by Professor Frances Pritchett at Columbia University

http://www.columbia.edu/~fp7/

Work in Progess

Intermediate Urdu Textbook Project

Amy Bard, Columbia University, acb@columbia.edu

Proposal to the SALRC

In this proposal, I request support for an intermediate-level Urdu textbook with web enhancement. The project targets a mixed, but largely heritage learner population, and will interlock with the first-year Urdu textbook/soundfiles/web materials created by Ali Asani (Harvard) and Akbar Hyder (Texas). The unique completeness of the Hyder/Asani text as a foundational Urdu course (as opposed to the more common Hindi course with limited Urdu augmentation) and the clear need for an integrated curriculum for at least the first two years of Urdu instruction speak to the timeliness and value of this project. Our current plan calls for a course that begins with a thorough review of first-year material and has units centered around individual Bollywood films, to be authored primarily by Amy Bard and Naseem Hines, with input from 3-5 other consultants. Associated film clips will be available as the web component is developed, although in view of ongoing questions concerning permissions and fair usage, the text and exercises will not depend on these clips. The web segment will also contain review, drills, recited poetry, and links to other useful Urdu websites. The team of consultants/contributors have already formulated rudimentary grammatical and topical syllabi. Even assuming a probable delay in the development of a manipulable Urdu font for the web, the “textbook” can be published on-line, with Inpage nastaliq font, in PDF.