Learning Urdu

[Figleaf]

What did you do to learn the script, Amit?

Peter

[asm]

I kept looking back and forth between an image and the transliteration done on a similar coin by Overlord or Tariq. Of course, personal interaction with these two as well as with Abhishek and one or two other FB friends helped polish the edges.
To be honest, I can only spot ( read) coins that I have some practice on. I still need to go a long way. In fact, I have suggested Arthur and Tariq to include the transliteration of each mint name break up as well as the couplet (as a way to help bigginers like me) to be included in their next book.

Amit

[Figleaf]

You can't expect to be as proficient as oesho or saro overnight, but it looks like a solid basis to build on and a method that can be recommended to beginners. Oesho once told me that he simply took lessons in reading Arabic script when stationed in India. He found both the lessons and the book cheap. If you can acquire the ability to recognise rarities like Abishek, it seems to me that the cost of the education should not be a problem.

Having done with Gothic script and late medieval European coins what you have done with Arabic script, I can confirm that practice, practice and practice are the three best methods to expand basic knowledge. At some point, you experience a breakthrough and you start recognising things that were not immediately clear before.

Peter

[asm]

..........., I can confirm that practice, practice and practice are the three best methods to expand basic knowledge. At some point, you experience a breakthrough and you start recognising things that were not immediately clear before.

Well, I have to agree and must thank the perseverance of the members here - Oesho, Salvete, Overlord etc who have kept egging me on. And I must say that, having acquired this basic knowledge, I am now able to pick variations on coins which have not been listed in various catalogues (with the sole exception of the new book on Shah Alam I by Arthur & Tariq). I could now pick up a couplet with words arranged differently (though the couplet is the same) or with different letters being used to form the divider. Helps improve my collection.

You can't expect to be as proficient as oesho or saro overnight, but it looks like a solid basis to build on and a method that can be recommended to beginners. Oesho once told me that he simply took lessons in reading Arabic script when stationed in India. He found both the lessons and the book cheap. If you can acquire the ability to recognise rarities like Abishek, it seems to me that the cost of the education should not be a problem.

To reach the level of Oesho or Saro, I would need a lot of time. Specially in these times when manpower shortages and bad market conditions have taken a toll on the time I can spare for coins. Just at present, I can only dream of being able to take lessons in Arabic / Urdu.
I only wish that I had had access to knowledge and friends like those on WoC in the days when I was starting........... Abhishek is lucky in that. Age and time (being a student) has helped him enormously...........

Amit

[cmerc]

What did you do to learn the script, Amit?

Peter

To share my experiences, I first learned the alphabets. Easy enough. Then, start trying to read Udru children's books. The Urdu text books for CBSE/NCERT schools are excellent, available online for free (http://www.ncert.nic.in/NCERTS/textbook/textbook.htm). I can now read at a 3rd/4th grade level. 

The problem with advanced Urdu is that the vowel marks are omitted and must be guessed from context. Children's books retain these vowel marks. Also, the fancy calligraphy on coins makes it hard for beginners as well.

[Enlil]

Why would you need to make time to learn, a spare 10 minutes a day is enough to make you language proficient. It is working with my Cantonese, I don't see why it can not work with any thing else you want to learn.