Pashto

A national language of Afghanistan, Pashto is primarily spoken in the east, south, and southwest, but also in some northern and western parts of the country. The exact number of speakers is unavailable, but different estimates show that Pashto is the mother tongue of 35–45% of the total population of Afghanistan. In Pakistan, Pashto is spoken by 18.1% of its population, which may have the largest Pashtun population in the world. Other communities of Pashto speakers are found in India, Tajikistan, and northeastern Iran (primarily in South Khorasan Province to the east of Qaen, near the Afghan border). In India most ethnic Pashtun (Pathan) peoples speak the geographically native Hindi-Urdu language rather than Pashto, but there are small numbers of Pashto speakers, such as the Sheen Khalai in Rajasthan, and the Pathan community in the city of Kolkata, often nicknamed the Kabuliwala ("people of Kabul"). Pashtun diaspora communities in other countries around the world speak Pashto, especially the sizable communities in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Afghanistan Pashto is one of the two official languages of Afghanistan, along with Dari Persian. Since the early 18th century, the monarchs of Afghanistan have been ethnic Pashtuns (except for Habibullāh Kalakāni in 1929). was more widely used in government institutions, while the Pashtun tribes spoke Pashto as their native tongue. King Amanullah Khan began promoting Pashto during his reign (1926–1929) as a marker of ethnic identity and as a symbol of "official nationalism" after the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919, which restored Afghan control over their foreign policy. and the inauguration of the Kabul University in 1932 as well as the formation of the Pashto Academy (Pashto Tolana) in 1937. The Pashto Tolana was later incorporated into the Academy of Sciences Afghanistan in line with Soviet model following the Saur Revolution in 1978. Although officially supporting the use of Pashto, the Afghan elite regarded Persian as a "sophisticated language and a symbol of cultured upbringing". King Zahir Shah (reigning 1933–1973) thus followed suit after his father Nadir Khan had decreed in 1933 that officials were to study and utilize both Persian and Pashto. In a 1936 royal decree, Zahir Shah formally granted Pashto the status of an official language, with full rights to use in all aspects of government and education, even though the ethnically Pashtun royal family and bureaucrats mostly spoke Persian. Thus Pashto became a national language and a symbol for Pashtun nationalism. The constitutional assembly reaffirmed the status of Pashto as an official language in 1964 when Afghan Persian was officially renamed to Dari. Since the return of the Taliban regime in 2021, although they have reaffirmed both Dari and Pashto as the official languages, critics accuse the Taliban of marginalizing Persian in favor of Pashto. The lyrics of the national anthem of Afghanistan under the Taliban are also in Pashto. Pakistan In British India, the 1920s saw the blossoming of Pashto language in the then NWFP: Bacha Khan in 1921 established the Anjuman-e Islah al-Afaghina (Society for the Reformation of Afghans) to promote Pashto as an extension of Pashtun culture; around 80,000 people attended the Society's annual meeting in 1927. In 1955, Pashtun intellectuals including Abdul Qadir formed the Pashto Academy Peshawar on the model of Pashto Tolana formed in Afghanistan. In 1974, the Department of Pashto was established in the University of Balochistan for the promotion of Pashto. In Pakistan, Pashto is the first language of around % of its population (per the 2023 census). Yet, the primary medium of education in government schools in Pakistan is Urdu. The lack of importance given to Pashto and its neglect has caused growing resentment amongst Pashtuns. It is noted that Pashto is taught poorly in schools in Pakistan. Moreover, in government schools material is not provided for in the Pashto dialect of that locality, Pashto being a dialectically rich language. Further, researchers have observed that Pashtun students are unable to fully comprehend educational material in Urdu. Professor Tariq Rahman states:Robert Nicols states: Although Pashto is used as a medium of instruction in schools for Pashtun students, which results in better understanding and comprehension for students when compared to using Urdu, the government of Pakistan has introduced Pashto only at the primary levels in state-run schools. Taimur Khan remarks: "the dominant Urdu language squeezes and denies any space for Pashto language in the official and formal capacity. In this contact zone, Pashto language exists but in a subordinate and unofficial capacity". ==History==

Some linguists have argued that Pashto is descended from Avestan or a variety very similar to it, while others have attempted to place it closer to Bactrian. However, neither position is universally agreed upon. What scholars do agree on is the fact that Pashto is an Eastern Iranian language sharing characteristics with Eastern Middle Iranian languages such as Bactrian, Khwarezmian and Sogdian. Comparison with other Eastern Iranian Languages and Old Avestan: Strabo, who lived between 64 BCE and 24 CE, explains that the tribes inhabiting the lands west of the Indus River were part of Ariana. This was around the time when the area inhabited by the Pashtuns was governed by the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. From the 3rd century CE onward, they are mostly referred to by the name Afghan (Abgan). Abdul Hai Habibi believed that the earliest modern Pashto work dates back to Amir Kror Suri of the early Ghurid period in the 8th century, and they used the writings found in Pə́ṭa Xazāná. Pə́ṭa Xazāná () is a Pashto manuscript claimed to be written by Mohammad Hotak under the patronage of the Pashtun emperor Hussain Hotak in Kandahar; containing an anthology of Pashto poets. However, its authenticity is disputed by scholars such as David Neil MacKenzie and Lucia Serena Loi. Nile Green comments in this regard: From the 16th century, Pashto poetry became popular among the Pashtuns. Some notable poets and authors who wrote in Pashto include Pir Roshan (inventor of the Pashto alphabet), Khushal Khan Khattak, Rahman Baba, Nazo Tokhi, and Ahmad Shah Durrani, founder of the Durrani Empire, precursor of the modern state of Afghanistan. The Pashtun literary tradition grew in the backdrop to weakening Pashtun power following Mughal rule: Khushal Khan Khattak used Pashto poetry to rally for Pashtun unity and Pir Bayazid as an expedient means to spread his message to the Pashtun masses. For instance Khushal Khattak laments in : ==Grammar==

Pashto is a subject–object–verb (SOV) language with split ergativity. In Pashto, this means that the verb agrees with the subject in transitive and intransitive sentences in non-past, non-completed clauses, but when a completed action is reported in any of the past tenses, the verb agrees with the subject if it is intransitive, but with the object if it is transitive. two numbers (singular and plural), and four cases (direct, oblique, ablative, and vocative). The possessor precedes the possessed in the genitive construction, and adjectives come before the nouns they modify. Unlike most other Indo-Iranian languages, Pashto uses all three types of adpositions—prepositions, postpositions, and circumpositions. ==Phonology==

Vowels Consonants • The retroflex rhotic or lateral, tends to be a lateral flap [] at the beginning of a syllable or other prosodic unit, and a regular flap [] or approximant [] elsewhere. ==Vocabulary==

In Pashto, most of the native elements of the lexicon are related to other Eastern Iranian languages. For instance, Georg Morgenstierne notes the Pashto word i.e. a hand-mill as being derived from the Ancient Greek word (, i.e. a device). Post-7th century borrowings came primarily from Persian and Hindi-Urdu, with Arabic words being borrowed through Persian, but sometimes directly. Modern speech borrows words from English, French, and German. However, a remarkably large number of words are unique to Pashto. Here is an exemplary list of Pure Pashto and borrowings: Due to the incursion of Persian and Persianized-Arabic in modern speech, linguistic purism of Pashto is advocated to prevent its own vocabulary from dying out. Classical vocabulary There is a lot of old vocabulary that has been replaced by borrowings e.g. 'throne' with , from Persian. Or the word meaning 'uniqueness' used by Pir Roshan Bayazid. Such classical vocabulary is being reintroduced to modern Pashto. Some words also survive in dialects like 'the bride-room'. Example from Khayr al-Bayān: : : Transliteration: : Translation: "... without singularity/uniqueness, without calmness and by bad-attitude are on sin ." ==Writing system==

Pashto employs the Pashto alphabet, a modified form of the Perso-Arabic alphabet or Arabic script. In the 16th century, Bayazid Pir Roshan introduced 13 new letters to the Pashto alphabet. The alphabet was further modified over the years. The Pashto alphabet consists of 45 to 46 letters and 4 diacritic marks. Latin Pashto is also used. In Latin transliteration, stress is represented by the following markers over vowels: ә́, á, ā́, ú, ó, í and é. The following table (read from left to right) gives the letters' isolated forms, along with possible Latin equivalents and typical IPA values: ==Dialects==

Pashto dialects are divided into two categories, the "soft" southern grouping of Paṣ̌tō, and the "hard" northern grouping of Pax̌tō (Pakhtu). Each group is further divided into a number of dialects. The Southern dialect of Tareeno is the most distinctive Pashto dialect. 1. Southern variety :*Abdaili or Kandahar dialect (or South Western dialect) :*Kakar dialect (or South Eastern dialect) :*Shirani dialect :*Mandokhel dialect :*Marwat-Bettani dialect :*Southern Karlani group ::*Khattak dialect ::*Wazirwola dialect :::*Dawarwola dialect :::*Masidwola dialect ::*Banisi (Banu) dialect 2. Northern variety :*Central Ghilji dialect (or North Western dialect) :*Yusapzai and Momand dialect (or North Eastern dialect) :*Northern Karlani group ::*Wardak dialect ::*Taniwola dialect ::*Mangal tribe dialect ::*Khosti dialect ::*Zadran dialect ::*Bangash-Orakzai-Turi-Zazi dialect ::*Afridi dialect ::*Khogyani dialect == Literary Pashto ==

Literary Pashto is the artificial variety of Pashto that is used at times as literary register of Pashto. It is said to be based on the North Western dialect, spoken in the central Ghilji region. Literary Pashto's vocabulary, also derives from other dialects. Criticism There is no actual Pashto that can be identified as "Standard" Pashto, as Colye remarks: ==Literature==

Pashto speakers have long had a tradition of oral literature, including proverbs, stories, and poems. Written Pashto literature saw a rise in development in the 17th century, mostly due to poets like Khushal Khan Khattak (1613–1689), who, along with Rahman Baba (1650–1715), is widely regarded as among the greatest Pashto poets. From the time of Ahmad Shah Durrani (1722–1772), Pashto has been the language of the court. The first Pashto teaching text was written during the period of Ahmad Shah Durrani by Pir Mohammad Kakar with the title of Maʿrifat al-Afghānī ("The Knowledge of Afghani [Pashto]"). After that, the first grammar book of Pashto verbs was written in 1805 under the title of Riyāż al-Maḥabbah ("Training in Affection") through the patronage of Nawab Mahabat Khan, son of Hafiz Rahmat Khan, chief of the Barech. Nawabullah Yar Khan, another son of Hafiz Rahmat Khan, in 1808 wrote a book of Pashto words entitled ʿAjāyib al-Lughāt ("Wonders of Languages"). Poetry example An excerpt from the Kalām of Rahman Baba: Pronunciation: Transliteration: Translation: "I Rahman, myself am guilty that I am a lover, On what does this other universe call me guilty." Proverbs Pashto also has a rich heritage of proverbs (Pashto matalúna, sg. matál). An example of a proverb: Transliteration: Obә́ pə ḍāng nə beléẓ̌i Translation: "One cannot divide water by [hitting it with] a pole." == Phrases ==

Greeting phrases Colors List of colors List of colors borrowed from neighbouring languages • '''' nārәnjí'' – orange [from Persian] • '''' gulābí'' – pink [from Hindustani, originally Persian] • '''' nilí'' – indigo [from Persian, ultimately Sanskrit Times of the day Months Pashtuns use the Vikrami calendar in Pakistan, and the Solar Hijri calendar in Afghanistan. Below are the terms designated for the Vikrami months: ==Notes==