The area in which people speak Urdu as their mother tongue includes east and west Pakistan (where, with Bangali, it functions as the official language of the land) and northern India. The language in this volume is based on the Urdu dialect of the educated population of Pakistan.

The purpose of the book is to provide the basic grammatical equipment and vocabulary necessary to conduct oneself in areas of Pakistan and India in which Urdu is the language of communication. Developed over a period of fifteen years, it is designed for students who have little or nor linguistic training.