| Group |
Iranian (with Persian,
Kurdish etc.), Southeast Iranian (with Pamir
languages, Khwaresmian, etc.) |
| Geography |
The main literature language of Afghanistan and an important tongue
in Pakistan, Pashto is spoken by 25 million people, and is divided into
plenty of dialects, of which southern, western and northern groups are
the widest. Pashto is developing in Afghanistan together with Dari,
which has a richer literature tradition. Earlier Pashto was not used in
official documents and in social and political life, but nowadays the sphere
of its use is widened all the time. Active efforts are made to normalize
the language and to create the single norm of literature tongue. |
| History |
Obviously literature in Pashto existed in the Middle Ages, but the
sources are not quite reliable; since the 16th century there is a firm
written tradition. |
| Phonetics |
Comparing with the Pamir languages, Pashto widely uses the retroflexive
consonants t., d., n., r.. A number of affricates is also
great. There is a series of vowel diphthongs. |
| Morphology |
The Pashto grammar shows wide usage of inflections in verb conjugation
and nominal declension, which can be either suffixed or interfixed (a suffix
inside the word). The verb has a complex system of the aspect category.
Ergative constructions with a declinable object are an important feature
of the language. |
| Writing |
Pashto is using the Arabic alphabet with special signs for retroflexive
consonants, affricates c, dj, and some diphthongs. |
| Close Contacts |
Pashto is closely related to Pamir languages |
| Sample |
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| Picture |
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| More info |
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