Urdu has a writing system very similar to Arabic. It is written in a Perso-Arabic script since the 12th century and is normally written in Nastaliq style. Similar to Arabic, Urdu is written from right to left. This is because it is an extension of the Persian alphabet which is an extension of the Arabic alphabet.
Urdu is formally written in Perso-Arabic script,however, many people are starting to write it in Roman script as well. Though many people attribute this to the younger generation of Urdu-speaking people around the world because of the internet, Roman Urdu has been used since the days of the British Raj. This is partly because of the low cost and availability of Roman movable type for printing presses. This form of writing is now popular than ever before because of text-messaging and internet services.
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