Pashto

Pashto
پښتو
Pashto written in Pashto script (Naskh style).
Pronunciation] [paʂˈto], [paçˈto], [puxˈto]
Native toAfghanistan; province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
RegionPashto Region
EthnicityPashtun people
Native speakers
40–60 million (2007–2009)
Standard forms
Dialects
Arabic (Pashto alphabet)
Official status
Official language in
 Afghanistan
Recognised minority
language in
Regulated byAcademy of Sciences of Afghanistan
Pashto Academy (Pakistan)
Language codes
ISO 639-1ps
ISO 639-2pus
ISO 639-3pus – inclusive code
Individual codes:
pst – Central Pashto
pbu – Northern Pashto
pbt – Southern Pashto
wne – Waneci
Linguasphere58-ABD-a
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Pashto (also known as Pushto or Pukhto) is an Eastern Iranic language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken by ethnic Pashtuns in northwestern and western Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is the official language of Afghanistan, and an official language of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It is spoken by the Pashtuns living in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Pashtuns, its speakers, make up majority of the population in Afghanistan. They are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan and second largest ethnic group in Pakistan, where it is the official provincial language in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (افغانی, Afghāni).

Pashto belongs to the Indo-European languages family. It has two main dialects, northern dialect and southern dialect. The small difference between these two dialects is in the use of sounds. Pashto is mainly descended from both the Bactrian and Sogdian languages.

References

  1. ↑ Nationalencyklopedin "Världens 100 största språk 2007" The World's 100 Largest Languages in 2007 (39 million)
  2. ↑ Penzl, Herbert; Ismail Sloan (2009). A Grammar of Pashto a Descriptive Study of the Dialect of khyber pakhtun khwa, pakistan. Ishi Press International. p. 210. ISBN 978-0-923891-72-5. Retrieved 2010-10-25. Estimates of the number of Pashto speakers range from 40 million to 60 million...
  3. ↑ "AFGHANISTAN vi. Paṧto". G. Morgenstierne. Encyclopaedia Iranica. Archived from the original on 2012-01-22. Retrieved 2010-10-10. Paṧtō undoubtedly belongs to the Northeastern Iranic branch.
  4. ↑ Constitution of Afghanistan - Chapter 1 The State, Article 16 (Languages) and Article 20 (Anthem)
  5. ↑ "Population by Mother Tongue". Population Census Organization, Government of Pakistan. Archived from the original on 12 September 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  6. ↑ Sebeok, Thomas Albert (1976). Current Trends in Linguistics: Index. Walter de Gruyter. p. 705.
  7. ↑ "Article Sixteen of the Constitution of Afghanistan". 2004. Archived from the original on October 28, 2013. Retrieved June 13, 2012. From among the languages of Pashto, Dari, Uzbeki, Turkmani, Baluchi, Pashai, Nuristani, Pamiri (alsana), Arab and other languages spoken in the country, Pashto and Dari are the official languages of the state.
  8. ↑ John Leyden, Esq. M.D.; William Erskine, Esq., eds. (1921). "Events Of The Year 910 (1525)". Memoirs of Babur. Packard Humanities Institute. p. 5. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2012. To the south is Afghanistān. There are ten or eleven different languages spoken in Kābul: Arabic, Persian, Tūrki, Moghuli, Afghani, Pashāi, Parāchi, Geberi, Bereki, Dari and Lamghāni.

Further reading