View source for Pashto

{{Short description|Eastern Iranian language of Afghanistan and Pakistan}}
{{Other uses}}
{{pp-move}}
{{protection padlock|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Pashto
| nativename       = {{lang|ps|پښتو}}<br />{{Transliteration|ps|Pax̌tó}}
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|ps|pəʂˈto|}}, {{IPA|ps|pʊxˈto|}}, {{IPA|ps|pəçˈto|}}, {{IPA|ps|pəʃˈto|}}
| states           = [[Afghanistan]]<br>[[Pakistan]]{{efn|According to the 2023 Pakistani census, Pashto is spoken by 18.1% of the country's population as their mother tongue, being the second only after Punjabi language. It is a regional language in Pakistani provinces of [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]] (where it is spoken by majority of the population making around 80% of the total) and [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Balochistan]].<ref name="census">{{citation |title=Population by Mother Tongue, Sex and Rural/Urban–2023 |url=https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/national/table_11.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241220005033/https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/national/table_11.pdf |archive-date=20 December 2024|publisher=[[Pakistan Bureau Statistics]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F2SRqDzB50wC&pg=PA845|date=6 April 2010|publisher=Elsevier|isbn=978-0-08-087775-4|pages=845–}}</ref>}}
| ethnicity        = [[Pashtuns]]
| speakers         = [[First language|L1]]: {{sigfig|51.337760|2}} million
| date             = 2017–2023
| ref              = <ref name="e28|ps">{{e28|ps}}</ref>
| speakers2        = [[second language|L2]]: {{sigfig|4.928500|2}} million (2022)<ref name="e28|ps" />
| speakers_label   = Speakers
| familycolor      = Indo-European
| fam2             = [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]]
| fam3             = [[Iranian languages|Iranian]]
| fam4             = [[Southeastern Iranian languages|Southeastern]]
| fam5             = Pashto-Wanetsi
| dialects         = [[Pashto dialects]]
| stand1           = [[Central Pashto]]
| stand2           = [[Northern Pashto]]
| stand3           = [[Southern Pashto]]
| script           = [[Pashto alphabet]]
| nation           = Afghanistan
| minority         = 
| agency           = {{unbulletedlist|[[Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan]]|[[Pashto Academy|Pashto Academy of Pakistan]]}}
| iso1             = ps
| iso1comment      = – Pashto, Pushto
| iso2             = pus
| iso2comment      = – Pushto, Pashto
| iso3             = pus
| iso3comment      = – Pashto, Pushto
| lc1              = pst
| ld1              = [[Central Pashto]]
| lc2              = pbu
| ld2              = [[Northern Pashto]]
| lc3              = pbt
| ld3              = [[Southern Pashto]]
| lc4              = wne
| ld4              = [[Wanetsi]]
| lingua           = 58-ABD-a
| image            = Pashto.svg
| imagecaption     = The word {{lang|ps-Latn|Pax̌tó}} written in the [[Pashto alphabet]]
| map              = Map of Pashto-speaking areas in Afghanistan and Pakistan.svg
| mapalt           = A map of Pashto-speaking areas
| mapcaption       = Areas in Afghanistan and Pakistan where Pashto is: {{legend|#ca52eb|the predominant language}} {{legend|#e8beff|spoken alongside other languages}}
| notice           = IPA
| imagescale       = 0.5
| glotto           = pash1269
| glottoname       = Pashto
}}
{{Contains special characters|Pashto}}

'''Pashto'''{{efn|Sometimes spelled "Pushtu" or "Pushto"<ref name=ahd /><ref name=OEDuk />}} ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ʌ|ʃ|t|oʊ}},<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pashto |title=Pashto (less commonly Pushtu) |work=Merriam-Webster Dictionary |publisher= Merriam-Webster, Incorporated |access-date=18 July 2016}}</ref><ref name="ahd">{{cite web |url=https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=Pashto |title=Pashto (also Pushtu) |work=American Heritage Dictionary |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company |access-date=18 July 2016}}</ref><ref name="OEDuk">{{cite web |url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/english/pashto |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151201094147/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/english/pashto |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 December 2015 |title=Pashto (also Pushtu) |work=Oxford Online Dictionaries, UK English |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref>{{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|æ|ʃ|t|oʊ}} {{respell|PASH|toh}};{{efn|The only American pronunciation listed by ''Oxford Online Dictionaries'' is {{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|æ|ʃ|t|oʊ}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/pashto |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150920011656/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/Pashto |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 September 2015 |title=Pashto (also Pushto or Pushtu) |work=Oxford Online Dictionaries, US English |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref>}} {{Langx|ps|پښتو|translit=Pəx̌tó|label=none}}, {{IPA|ps|pəʂˈto, pʊxˈto, pəʃˈto, pəçˈto|}}) is an [[Eastern Iranian languages|eastern Iranian language]] in the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language family]], natively spoken in northwestern [[Pakistan]] and  southern and eastern [[Afghanistan]]. It has official status in Afghanistan. It is known in historical [[Persian literature]] as '''Afghani''' ({{Langx|fa|افغانی|translit=Afghāni|label=none}}).<ref name="Leyden" />

Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic [[Pashtuns]], it is one of the two official [[languages of Afghanistan]] alongside [[Dari]],<ref name="AO">{{cite web |title=Article Sixteen of the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan |url=http://www.afghan-web.com/politics/current_constitution.html#preamble |quote=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.''' |year=2004 |access-date=13 June 2012 |archive-date=28 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131028065437/http://www.afghan-web.com/politics/current_constitution.html#preamble |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="AC">[[Constitution of Afghanistan]] – [http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/af00000_.html ''Chapter 1 The State, Article 16 (Languages) and Article 20 (Anthem)'']</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Afghanistan: The land |last1=Banting |first1=Erinn |year=2003 |publisher=Crabtree Publishing Company |isbn=0-7787-9335-4 |page=4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KRt0HfYFZGsC&q=place%20of%20Afghans&pg=PA4 |access-date=22 August 2010 |language=en}}</ref> and it is spoken as the second-largest provincial [[Languages of Pakistan|language in Pakistan]], spoken mainly in [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]] and the northern districts of [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Balochistan]].<ref name="census" /> Likewise, it is the primary language of the [[Pashtun diaspora]] around the world. The total number of Pashto-speakers is at least 40 million,<ref name="ELL2">{{ELL2|Pashto|author=D. Septfonds| chapter = Pashto}} (40 million)</ref> although some estimates place it as high as 60 million.<ref name="Penzl">{{Cite book |title=A Grammar of Pashto a Descriptive Study of the Dialect of Kandahar, Afghanistan |last1=Penzl |first1=Herbert |author2=Ismail Sloan |year=2009 |publisher=Ishi Press International |isbn=978-0-923891-72-5 |pages=210 |quote=Estimates of the number of Pashto speakers range from 40 million to 60 million... |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zvRePgAACAAJ|language=en}}</ref> Pashto is "one of the primary markers of ethnic identity" amongst Pashtuns.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hakala|first=Walter|url=https://brill.com/view/title/17296|title=Language Policy and Language Conflict in Afghanistan and Its Neighbors: The Changing Politics of Language Choice|date=2011-12-09|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-21765-2|pages=55|language=en|quote="As is well known, the Pashtun people place a great deal of pride upon their language as an identifier of their distinct ethnic and historical identity. While it is clear that not all those who self-identify as ethnically Pashtun themselves use Pashto as their primary language, language does seem to be one of the primary markers of ethnic identity in contemporary Afghanistan."}}</ref>

==Geographic distribution==
{{Further|Languages of Afghanistan|Languages of Pakistan}}
A national language of [[Afghanistan]],<ref name="Pashto-language">{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/445534/Pashto-language |title=Pashto language |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=7 December 2010}}</ref> 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 [[first language|mother tongue]] of 45–60%<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/afghanistan/|title=Languages: Afghanistan|work=Central Intelligence Agency|publisher=The World Factbook|access-date=27 October 2020}} (48% L1 + L2)</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Concise encyclopedia of languages of the world|last1=Brown|first1=Keith|author2=Sarah Ogilvie|year=2009|publisher=Elsevie|quote=''Pashto, which is mainly spoken south of the mountain range of the Hindu Kush, is reportedly the mother tongue of 60% of the Afghan population.''|isbn=978-0-08-087774-7|page=845|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F2SRqDzB50wC&pg=PA845|access-date=7 April 2012}}</ref><ref name="UCLA">{{cite web |url=http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?LangID=64&menu=004 |title=Pashto |publisher=[[University of California, Los Angeles]] |work=UCLA International Institute: Center for World Languages |access-date=10 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090103185916/http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?LangID=64&menu=004 |archive-date=3 January 2009 |url-status=dead }} (50%)</ref><ref name="Iranica-languages">{{Cite encyclopedia| last = Kieffer| first = Ch. M.| year = 1982| chapter-url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/afghanistan-v-languages|chapter=AFGHANISTAN v. Languages |quote="Paṧtō (1) is the native tongue of 50 to 55 percent of Afghans".|title=Encyclopædia Iranica|access-date=11 October 2020}}</ref> of the total [[Demography of Afghanistan|population of Afghanistan]].

In [[Pakistan]], Pashto is spoken by 18.1% of its population,<ref name="census" /> mainly in the northwestern province of [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]] and northern districts of [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Balochistan]] province. It is also spoken in parts of [[Mianwali District|Mianwali]] and [[Attock District|Attock]] districts of the [[Punjab (Pakistan)|Punjab province]], areas of [[Gilgit-Baltistan]] and in [[Islamabad]]. Pashto speakers are found in other major cities of Pakistan, most notably [[Karachi]], Sindh,<ref name="pbs">{{cite web|author=Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy|date=17 July 2009|title=Karachi's Invisible Enemy |url=https://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2009/07/karachis_invisi.html|access-date=24 August 2010|publisher=PBS}}</ref><ref name="The National">{{cite web|date=24 August 2009|title=In a city of ethnic friction, more tinder|url=http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090825/FOREIGN/708249931|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100116211443/http://www.thenational.ae/|archive-date=16 January 2010|access-date=24 August 2010|publisher=The National}}</ref><ref name="tribune.com.pk">{{cite magazine|date=28 August 2010|title=Columnists {{pipe}} The Pakhtun in Karachi|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/43827/the-pakhtun-in-karachi/|access-date=8 September 2011|magazine=Time}}</ref><ref name="thefridaytimes.com">[http://www.thefridaytimes.com/beta2/tft/article.php?issue=20110715&page=5] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20121209085408/http://www.thefridaytimes.com/beta2/tft/article.php?issue=20110715&page=5|date=9 December 2012}}, thefridaytimes</ref> which may have the largest Pashtun population of any city in the world.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lieven|first=Anatol |date=2021-05-04|title=An Afghan Tragedy: The Pashtuns, the Taliban and the State |journal=Survival|volume=63|issue=3|pages=7–36|doi=10.1080/00396338.2021.1930403|s2cid=235219004 |issn=0039-6338|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Other communities of Pashto speakers are found in [[India]], [[Tajikistan]],<ref name="Ethnologue-2000">{{cite web |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/14/show_language.asp?code=PBT |title=Pashto, Southern |work=SIL International |publisher=Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 14th edition |year=2000 |access-date=18 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626003043/http://www.ethnologue.com/14/show_language.asp?code=PBT |archive-date=26 June 2008 }}</ref> and northeastern [[Iran]] (primarily in [[South Khorasan Province]] to the east of [[Qaen]], near the Afghan border).<ref name="Ethnologue-Iran">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=iran |title=Languages of Iran |work=SIL International |publisher=Ethnologue: Languages of the World |access-date=27 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204023910/http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=iran |archive-date=4 February 2012 }}</ref> In India most ethnic Pashtun (Pathan) peoples speak the geographically native [[Hindustani language|Hindi-Urdu language]] rather than Pashto, but there are small numbers of Pashto speakers, such as the [[Sheen Khalai]] in [[Rajasthan]],<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tattooed-blue-skinned-hindu-pushtuns-look-back-at-their-roots/article22645932.ece|title=Tattooed 'blue-skinned' Hindu Pushtuns look back at their roots|newspaper=The Hindu|date=3 February 2018|last1=Haidar|first1=Suhasini}}</ref> and the Pathan community in the city of [[Kolkata]], often nicknamed the ''Kabuliwala'' ("people of [[Kabul]]").<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-32377276|title = The 'Kabuliwala' Afghans of Kolkata|work = BBC News|date = 23 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thebetterindia.com/155394/hindu-pashtun-shilpi-batra-sheenkhalai-afghanistan/|title = Hindu Pashtuns: How One Granddaughter Uncovered India's Forgotten Links to Afghanistan|date = 8 August 2018}}</ref> Pashtun diaspora communities in other countries around the world speak Pashto, especially the sizable communities in the [[United Arab Emirates]]<ref name="Ethnologue-UAE">{{Cite web |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=AE |title=Languages of United Arab Emirates|work=SIL International|publisher=Ethnologue: Languages of the World|access-date=27 September 2010}}</ref> and [[Saudi Arabia]].

===Afghanistan===
Pashto is one of the two official languages of Afghanistan, along with [[Dari Persian]].<ref name="socioling">Modarresi, Yahya: "Iran, Afghanistan and Tadjikistan, 1911–1916." In: ''Sociolinguistics'', Vol. 3, Part. 3. Ulrich Ammon, Norbert Dittmar, Klaus J. Mattheier, Peter Trudgill (eds.). Berlin, De Gryuter: 2006. p. 1915. {{ISBN|3-11-018418-4}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=LMZm0w0k1c4C&pg=PA1914]</ref> Since the early 18th century, [[List of heads of state of Afghanistan|the monarchs of Afghanistan]] have been ethnic Pashtuns (except for [[Habibullāh Kalakāni]] in 1929).<ref name=rahman /> Persian, the literary language of the royal court,<ref>Lorenz, Manfred. "Die Herausbildung moderner iranischer Literatursprachen." In: ''Zeitschrift für Phonetik, Sprachwissenschaft und Kommunikationsforschung'', Vol. 36. Akademie der Wissenschaften der DDR. Akademie Verlag, Berlin: 1983. P. 184ff.</ref> was more widely used in government institutions, while the [[Pashtun tribes]] spoke Pashto as their [[First language|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.<ref name=rahman /> In the 1930s, a movement began to take hold to promote Pashto as a language of government, administration, and art with the establishment of a Pashto Society ''Pashto Anjuman'' in 1931<ref>Other sources note 1933, i.e. Johannes Christian Meyer-Ingwersen. Untersuchungen zum Satzbau des Paschto. 1966. Ph.D. Thesis, Hamburg 1966.</ref> and the inauguration of the [[Kabul University]] in 1932 as well as the formation of the [[Pashto Academy]] (Pashto ''Tolana)'' in 1937.<ref name="hussain" /> Muhammad Na'im Khan, the minister of education between 1938 and 1946, inaugurated the formal policy of promoting Pashto as Afghanistan's national language, leading to the commission and publication of Pashto textbooks.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Green|first1=Nile|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2SbtugAACAAJ|title=Afghanistan in Ink: Literature Between Diaspora and Nation|last2=Arbabzadah|first2=Nushin|date=2013|publisher=Hurst|isbn=978-1-84904-204-8|pages=17|language=en}}</ref> The Pashto Tolana was later incorporated into the Academy of Sciences Afghanistan in line with Soviet model following the [[Saur Revolution]] in 1978.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Green|first1=Nile|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2SbtugAACAAJ|title=Afghanistan in Ink: Literature Between Diaspora and Nation|last2=Arbabzadah|first2=Nushin|date=2013|publisher=Hurst|isbn=978-1-84904-204-8|language=en}}</ref>

Although officially supporting the use of Pashto, the Afghan elite regarded Persian as a "sophisticated language and a symbol of cultured upbringing".<ref name=rahman>Tariq Rahman. "Pashto Language & Identity Formation in Pakistan." ''Contemporary South Asia'', July 1995, Vol 4, Issue 2, p151-20.</ref> King [[Mohammed Zahir Shah|Zahir Shah]] (reigning 1933–1973) thus followed suit after his father [[Mohammed Nadir Shah|Nadir Khan]] had decreed in 1933 that officials were to study and utilize both Persian and Pashto.<ref>István Fodor, Claude Hagège. ''Reform of Languages''. Buske, 1983. P. 105ff.</ref> In 1936  a [[royal decree]] of Zahir Shah [[Formality|formally]] granted Pashto the status of an official language,<ref>Campbell, George L.: ''Concise Compendium of the world's languages''. London: Routledge 1999.</ref> with full rights to use in all aspects of government and education – despite the fact that the ethnically Pashtun royal family and bureaucrats mostly spoke Persian.<ref name="hussain">Hussain, Rizwan. ''Pakistan and the emergence of Islamic militancy in Afghanistan''. Burlington, Ashgate: 2005. [https://books.google.com/books?id=TRW_M_xybyYC p. 63.]</ref> Thus Pashto became a [[national language]], a symbol for [[Pashtun nationalism]].

The [[1964 Constitution of Afghanistan|constitutional assembly]] reaffirmed the status of Pashto as an official language in 1964 when Afghan Persian was officially renamed to [[Dari language|Dari]].<ref>[[Louis Dupree (professor)|Dupree, Louis]]: "Language and Politics in Afghanistan." In: ''Contributions to Asian Studies''. Vol. 11/1978. p. 131–141. E. J. Brill, Leiden 1978. p. 131.</ref><ref>Spooner, Bryan: "Are we teaching Persian?" In: ''Persian Studies in North America: Studies in Honor of Mohammad Ali Jazayery''. Mehdi Marashi (ed.). Bethesda, Iranbooks: 1994. p. 1983.</ref> The lyrics of the [[Afghan National Anthem|national anthem of Afghanistan]] are in Pashto.

===Pakistan===
In [[British Raj|British India]], prior to the creation of Pakistan by the British government, the 1920s saw the blossoming of Pashto language in the then [[North-West Frontier Province|NWFP]]: [[Abdul Ghaffar Khan|Abdul Ghafar 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.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Green|first1=Nile|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2SbtugAACAAJ|title=Afghanistan in Ink: Literature Between Diaspora and Nation|last2=Arbabzadah|first2=Nushin|date=2013|publisher=Hurst|isbn=978-1-84904-204-8|pages=109|language=en}}</ref> In 1955, Pashtun intellectuals including [[Abdul Qadir (academician)|Abdul Qadir]] formed the [[Pashto Academy|Pashto Academy Peshawar]] on the model of Pashto Tolana formed in Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Brown|first1=Michael Edward|url=https://archive.org/details/fightingwordslan00brow|title=Fighting Words: Language Policy and Ethnic Relations in Asia|last2=Ganguly|first2=Sumit|publisher=MIT Press|year=2003|isbn=978-0262523332|pages=[https://archive.org/details/fightingwordslan00brow/page/n83 71]|url-access=limited}}</ref> In 1974, the Department of Pashto was established in the University of Balochistan for the promotion of Pashto.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Department of Pashto|url=http://web.uob.edu.pk/uob/departments/Pashto/index.php|access-date=2021-09-07|website=web.uob.edu.pk}}</ref>

In Pakistan, Pashto is the first language of around {{sigfig|18.1|3}}% of its population (per the 2023 census).<ref name="census" />  However, [[Urdu]] and [[English language|English]] are the two official languages of Pakistan. Pashto has no official status at the federal level. On a provincial level, Pashto is the regional language of [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]] and north [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Balochistan]].<ref>Septfonds, D. 2006. Pashto. In: Concise encyclopedia of languages of the world. 845 – 848. Keith Brown / Sarah Ogilvie (eds.). Elsevier, Oxford: 2009.</ref> Yet, the primary medium of education in government schools in Pakistan is Urdu.<ref>{{Citation|last=Rahman|first=Tariq|author-link=Tariq Rahman |editor=Craig Baxter|editor-link = Craig Baxter |title=Education in Pakistan a Survey |series=Pakistan on the Brink: Politics, Economics and Society |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CFNtVqYqAwEC&q=medium+of+instruction+in+pakistan&pg=PA172|year=2004|publisher=Lexington Books|page=172|isbn=978-0195978056}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1134809/|title=Will change in medium of instruction improve education in KP?|first=Bushra|last=Rahim|date=28 September 2014|work=dawn.com|access-date=18 July 2016}}</ref>

The lack of importance given to Pashto and its neglect has caused growing resentment amongst Pashtuns.<ref name="Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Pakistan">{{Cite book|title=Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Pakistan|author=Daniel Hallberg|year=1992|publisher=Quaid-i-Azam University & Summer Institute of Linguistics|volume=4|page=36 to 37|isbn=969-8023-14-3|url=http://www-01.sil.org/sociolx/pubs/32847_SSNP04.pdf|access-date=6 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712204446/http://www-01.sil.org/sociolx/pubs/32847_SSNP04.pdf|archive-date=12 July 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mashaalradio.org/content/article/25466375.html|title=د کرښې پرغاړه (په پاکستان کې د مورنیو ژبو حیثیت) |work=mashaalradio.org|date=22 July 2014 |access-date=18 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite report|title=Teaching and learning in Pakistan: the role of language in education |url=http://www.britishcouncil.org/pakistan-ette-role-of-language-in-education.htm |author=Hywel Coleman |year=2010 |publisher=[[British Council]], Pakistan |access-date=24 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101104060039/http://www.britishcouncil.org/pakistan-ette-role-of-language-in-education.htm |archive-date=4 November 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Mohmand|first=Mureeb|date=27 April 2014|title=The decline of Pashto|work=The Express Tribune|url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/700836/the-decline-of-pashto|access-date=|quote="...because of the state's patronage, Urdu is now the most widely-spoken language in Pakistan. But the preponderance of one language over all others eats upon the sphere of influence of other, smaller languages, which alienates the respective nationalities and fuels aversion towards the central leadership...If we look to our state policies regarding the promotion of Pashto and the interests of the Pakhtun political elite, it is clear that the future of the Pashto language is dark.  And when the future of a language is dark, the future of the people is dark."}}</ref> It is noted that Pashto is taught poorly in schools in Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Carter|first=Lynn|date=|title=Socio-Economic Profile of Kurram Agency|url=|journal=Planning and Development Department, Peshawar, NWFP|volume=1991|pages=82|via=}}</ref> Moreover, in government schools material is not provided for in the Pashto dialect of that locality, Pashto being a dialectically rich language.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Carter and Raza|date=|title=Socio-Economic Profile of South Waziristan Agency|url=|journal=Planning and Development Department, Peshawar, NWFP|volume=1990|pages=69|quote=Sources say that this is mainly because the Pushto text books in use in the settled areas of N.W.F.P. are written in the Yusufzai dialect, which is not the dialect in use in the Agency|via=}}</ref>  Further, researchers have observed that Pashtun students are unable to fully comprehend educational material in Urdu.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hallberg|first=Daniel|title=Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Pakistan|url=https://www.sil.org/system/files/reapdata/10/21/84/102184639558058261191157258320075530940/32847_SSNP04.pdf|journal=National Institute of Pakistan Studies Quaid-i-Azam University and Summer Institute of Linguisitics|volume=4|pages=36|quote=A brief interview with the principal of the high school in Madyan, along with a number of his teachers, helps to underscore the importance of Pashto in the school domain within Pashtoon territory. He reported that Pashto is used by teachers to explain things to students all the way up through tenth class. The idea he was conveying was that students do not really have enough ability in Urdu to operate totally in that language. He also expressed the thought that Pashto-speaking students in the area really do not learn Urdu very well in public school and that they are thus somewhat ill prepared to meet the expectation that they will know how to use Urdu and English when they reach the college level. He likened the education system to a wall that has weak bricks at the bottom.}}</ref>

Professor [[Tariq Rahman]] states:<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rahman|first=Tariq|title=The Pashto language and identity-formation in Pakistan|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233372024|journal=Contemporary South Asia |date=July 1995|volume=4|issue=2|pages=151–20|doi=10.1080/09584939508719759|via=Research Gate |issn = 0958-4935 }}</ref>{{Blockquote|"The government of Pakistan, faced with irredentist claims from Afghanistan on its territory, also discouraged the Pashto Movement and eventually allowed its use in peripheral domains only after the Pakhtun elite had been co-opted by the ruling elite...Thus, even though there is still an active desire
among some Pakhtun activists to use Pashto in the domains of power, it is more of a symbol of Pakhtun identity than one of nationalism."|Tariq Rahman|The Pashto language and identity-formation in Pakistan|source=}}Robert Nicols states:<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://brill.com/view/title/17296|title=Language Policy and Language Conflict in Afghanistan and Its Neighbors: The Changing Politics of Language Choice|date=2011-12-09|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-21765-2|pages=279|language=en}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|"In the end, national language policy, especially in the field of education in the NWFP, had constructed a type of three tiered language hierarchy. Pashto lagged far behind Urdu and English in prestige or development in almost every domain of political or economic power..."|3=Language Policy and Language Conflict in Afghanistan and Its Neighbors|source=Pashto Language Policy and Practice in the North West Frontier Province}}

Although Pashto used as a medium of instruction in schools for Pashtun students results in better understanding and comprehension for students when compared to using Urdu, still the government of Pakistan has only introduced Pashto at the primary levels in state-run schools.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Khan|first=M. Taimur S.|url=https://www.academia.edu/42225525|title=Pakistanizing Pashtun: The linguistic and cultural disruption and re-invention of Pashtun|publisher=American University|year=2016|location=|pages=72|quote=Urdu which is the native language of only 7.57 per cent of Pakistanis (though widely spoken as the national language and lingua franca in Pakistan) dominates all other local languages; and Pashto which is the native language of 15.42 per cent of the total population has no official recognition beyond primary school...Despite its limited scope, the Pashto-medium schools were a success as the "achievement tests showed an improvement in Pashto medium schools as compared to Urdu medium schools". Nonetheless, the better results have so far not motivated the government to introduce Pashto-medium schools at a larger scale in Pashtun populated areas.}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Khan|first=M. Taimur S.|url=https://www.academia.edu/42225525|title=Pakistanizing Pashtun: The linguistic and cultural disruption and re-invention of Pashtun|publisher=American University|year=2016|pages=96–97}}</ref>

==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 language|Bactrian]].<ref name="Darmesteter 1890">{{cite book |last=Darmesteter |first=James |title=Chants populaires des Afghans |year=1890 |location=Paris}}</ref><ref>Henning (1960), p. 47. "Bactrian thus 'occupies an intermediary position between Pashto and Yidgha-Munji on the one hand, Sogdian, Choresmian, and Parthian on the other: it is thus in its natural and rightful place in Bactria'."</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hotak |first1=Muhammad |last2=Habibi |first2=Abd al-Hayy |title=The Hidden Treasure: A Biography of Pas̲htoon Poets |year=1997 |page=21 |quote=With regard to Morgenstierne's statement that the language is affiliated with eastern Iranian languages there is ample evidence to consider it a Bactrian language.}}</ref> However, neither position is universally agreed upon. What scholars do agree on is the fact that Pashto is an [[Eastern Iranian languages|Eastern Iranian language]] sharing characteristics with Eastern Middle Iranian languages such as Bactrian, [[Khwarezmian language|Khwarezmian]] and [[Sogdian language|Sogdian]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Comrie |first1=Bernard |title=The world's major languages |date=2009 |publisher=Routledge}}</ref><ref name="Iranica-Pashto">{{cite web|title=AFGHANISTAN vi. Paṧto|url=http://www.iranica.com/articles/afghanistan-vi-pasto|access-date=10 October 2010|work=[[Georg Morgenstierne|G. Morgenstierne]]|publisher=Encyclopaedia Iranica|quote=Paṧtō undoubtedly belongs to the Northeastern Iranic branch.|archive-date=22 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120122024645/http://www.iranica.com/articles/afghanistan-vi-pasto|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

Compare with other [[Eastern Iranian languages|Eastern Iranian Languages]] and [[Avestan|Old Avestan]]:
{| class="wikitable"
|
!''"I am seeing you"''
|-
!Pashto
!'''{{lang|ps|زۀ تا وينم}}'''<br/>'''Zə tā winə́m'''
|-
![[Old Avestan]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Beekes|first=Robert Stephen Paul|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=10Yhw7zQGjYC|title=A Grammar of Gatha-Avestan|date=1988|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-08332-5|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Avestan grammar help: Azə̄m θβąm vaēnami?|url=https://linguistics.stackexchange.com/questions/40438/avestan-grammar-help-az%c9%99%cc%84m-%ce%b8%ce%b2%c4%85m-va%c4%93nami|access-date=2021-10-16|website=Linguistics Stack Exchange}}</ref>
|{{lang|ae|Azə̄m θβā vaēnamī}}
|-
![[Ossetian language|Ossetian]]
|{{lang|os|ӕз дӕ уынын}}<br/>/ɐz dɐ wənən/
|-
![[Ormuri]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Efimov|first=V. A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yt9mMwEACAAJ|title=The Ormuri Language in Past and Present|date=2011|publisher=Forum for Language Initiatives|isbn=978-969-9437-02-1|language=en}}</ref>
|{{lang|oru|از بو تو ځُنِم}} <br/>Az bū tū dzunim
|-
![[Yidgha language|Yidgha]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Morgenstierne|first=Georg|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OgByQwAACAAJ|title=Indo-iranian Frontier Languages, by Georg Morgenstiern. Vol. II. Iranian Pamir Languages (yidgha-munji, Sanglechi-ishkashmi and Wakhi).|date=1938|publisher=W. Nygaard|language=en}}</ref>
|{{lang|ydg|Zo vtō vīnəm əstə (tə)}}
|-
![[Munji language|Munji]]<ref>{{Citation|title=In this video, the Pashtun... – Pashtun Studies Network|url=https://www.facebook.com/ConnectingScholarship/videos/2803427993291397/|language=en|access-date=2021-10-16}}</ref>
|{{lang|mnj|Zə ftō wīnəm}}
|-
![[Shughni language|Shughni]]<ref name="youtube.com">{{Citation|title=Can Eastern Iranics Understand Each Other?| date=2 May 2021 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9hNKd8JOqc|language=en|access-date=2021-10-16}}</ref>
|{{lang|sgh|Uz tu winum}}
|-
![[Wakhi language|Wakhi]]<ref name="youtube.com"/>
|{{lang|wbl|Wuz tau winəm}}
|}
[[Strabo]], who lived between 64 BC 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'').<ref name="Habibi">{{Cite web |url=http://www.alamahabibi.com/English%20Articles/Afghan_and_Afghanistan.htm |title=Afghan and Afghanistan |work=[[Abdul Hai Habibi]] |publisher=alamahabibi.com|year=1969|access-date=24 October 2010}}</ref><ref name="Britannica-Abgan">{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/7798/Afghanistan/129450/History?anchor=ref261360|title=History of Afghanistan|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=22 November 2010}}</ref><ref name="Abgan">{{Cite book|title=Afghanistan – a country without a state?|last1=Noelle-Karimi|first1=Christine|author2=Conrad J. Schetter |author3=Reinhard Schlagintweit |year=2002|publisher=IKO|location=[[University of Michigan]], United States|isbn=3-88939-628-3|page=18|quote=The earliest mention of the name 'Afghan' (Abgan) is to be found in a Sasanid inscription from the third century AD and their language as ''"Afghani"''.}}</ref><ref name="Leyden">{{cite web |url=http://persian.packhum.org/persian//pf?file=03501051&ct=92 |title=Events Of The Year 910 (1525) |page=5 |editor=John Leyden, Esq. M.D. |editor2=William Erskine, Esq. |work=[[Baburnama|Memoirs of Babur]] |publisher=[[Packard Humanities Institute]] |year=1921 |access-date=10 January 2012 |quote=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. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114042010/http://persian.packhum.org/persian//pf?file=03501051&ct=92 |archive-date=14 November 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[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 use the writings found in [[Pata Khazana]].  [[Pə́ṭa Xazāná]] ({{lang|ps|پټه خزانه}}) is a Pashto [[manuscript]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Pata Khazana|url=http://patakhazana.home.comcast.net/~patakhazana/Khazana.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723045855/http://patakhazana.home.comcast.net/~patakhazana/Khazana.pdf|archive-date=23 July 2011|access-date=27 September 2010}}</ref> 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.<ref>David Neil MacKenzie: David N. Mackenzie: ''The Development of the Pashto Script''. In: Shirin Akiner (Editor): ''Languages and Scripts of Central Asia''. School of Oriental and African Studies, Univ. of London, London 1997, {{ISBN|978-0-7286-0272-4}}.p.&nbsp;142</ref><ref name="Lucia Serena Loi 1987, p. 33">Lucia Serena Loi: ''Il tesoro nascosto degli Afghani''. Il Cavaliere azzurro, Bologna 1987, p.&nbsp;33</ref> [[Nile Green]] comments in this regard:<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190247782.001.0001/acprof-9780190247782|title=Afghan History Through Afghan Eyes|year=2016|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-049223-6|pages=37–38|language=en-US|doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190247782.001.0001|editor1-last=Green|editor1-first=Nile}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text="In 1944, Habibi claimed to have discovered an eighteenth-century manuscript anthology containing much older biographies and verses of Pashto poets that stretched back as far as the eighth century. It was an extraordinary claim, implying as it did that the history of Pashto literature reached back further in time than Persian, thus supplanting the hold of Persian over the medieval Afghan past. Although it was later convincingly discredited through formal linguistic analysis, Habibi's publication of the text under the title Pata Khazana ('Hidden Treasure') would (in Afghanistan at least) establish his reputation as a promoter of the wealth and
antiquity of  Afghanistan's Pashto culture."|title=Afghan History Through Afghan Eyes}}

From the 16th century, Pashto poetry become very popular among the Pashtuns. Some of those who wrote in Pashto are [[Pir Roshan|Bayazid Pir Roshan]] (a major inventor of the [[Pashto alphabet]]), [[Khushal Khan Khattak]], [[Rahman Baba]], [[Nazo Tokhi]], and [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]], founder of the modern state of Afghanistan or the [[Durrani Empire]]. The Pashtun literary tradition grew in the backdrop to weakening Pashtun power following Mughal rule: [[Khushal Khattak|Khushal Khan Khattak]] used Pashto poetry to rally for Pashtun unity and [[Pir Roshan|Pir Bayazid]] as an expedient means to spread his message to the Pashtun masses.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Green|first1=Nile|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2SbtugAACAAJ|title=Afghanistan in Ink: Literature Between Diaspora and Nation|last2=Arbabzadah|first2=Nushin|date=2013|publisher=Hurst|isbn=978-1-84904-204-8|pages=93|language=en}}</ref>

For instance [[Khushal Khattak]] laments in :<ref>{{Cite book|last=Raverty|first=Henry G.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bAXCtwEACAAJ|title=Selections from the Poetry of the Afghans: From the Sixteenth to the Nineteenth Century, Literally Translated from the Original Pushto, with Notices of the Different Authors, and Remarks on the Mystic Doctrine and Poetry of the Sūfis|date=2015|publisher=Cosmo Publications|isbn=978-81-307-1858-3|pages=127|language=en}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text="The Afghans (Pashtuns) are far superior to the Mughals at the sword,
Were but the Afghans, in intellect, a little discreet.
If the different tribes would but support each other,
Kings would have to bow down in prostration before them"|title=Selections from the Poetry of the Afghans|author=Khushal Khan Khattak|source=}}

==Grammar==
{{Main|Pashto 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.<ref name="Pashto-language"/> [[Verb]]s are inflected for present, simple past, past progressive, present perfect, and past perfect tenses. There is also an inflection for the [[subjunctive mood]].

Nouns and adjectives are [[inflection|inflected]] for two [[Grammatical gender|genders]] (masculine and feminine),<ref>Emeneau, M. B. (1962) "Bilingualism and Structural Borrowing" ''Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society'' 106(5): pp. 430–442, p. 441</ref> two [[Grammatical number|numbers]] (singular and plural), and four [[Grammatical case|cases]] (direct, oblique, ablative, and vocative). The possessor precedes the possessed in the genitive construction, and [[adjective]]s come before the [[noun]]s they modify.

Unlike most other Indo-Iranian languages, Pashto uses all three types of [[adpositional phrase|adpositions]]—prepositions, postpositions, and circumpositions.

==Phonology==
{{Main|Pashto phonology}}

===Vowels===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! 
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
! [[Central vowel|Central]]
! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
|  {{IPA link|i}}
|
| {{IPA link|u}}
|-
! [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA link|e̞|e}}
| {{IPA link|ə}}
| {{IPA link|o̞|o}}
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
| {{IPA link|a}}
|
| {{IPA link|ɑ}}
|}

===Consonants===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+Consonant phonemes of Pashto{{sfnp|Tegey|Robson|1996|p=15}}
!
! colspan="2" | [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="2" | [[Dental consonant|Dental]]/<br />[[Alveolar consonant|alveolar]]
! colspan="2" | [[Postalveolar consonant|Post-<br />alveolar]]
! colspan="2" | [[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]
! colspan="2" | [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! colspan="2" | [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! colspan="2" | [[Uvular consonant|Uvular]]
! colspan="2" | [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! [[Nasal stop|Nasal]]
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|m}}
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|n}}
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" |
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|ɳ}}
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" |
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|ŋ}}
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" |
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" |
|-
! [[Plosive consonant|Plosive]]
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|p}}
| style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|b}}
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|t̪|t}}
| style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|d̪|d}}
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" |
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|ʈ}}
| style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|ɖ}}
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" |
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|k}}
| style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|ɡ}}
| style="border-right: none;" | ({{IPA link|q}})
| style="border-left: none;" |
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" |
|-
! [[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" |
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|t͡s}}
| style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|d͡z}}
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|t͡ʃ}}
| style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|d͡ʒ}}
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" |
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" |
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" |
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" |
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" |
|-
! [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
| style="border-right: none;" | ({{IPA link|f}})
| style="border-left: none;" |
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|s}}
| style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|z}}
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|ʃ}}
| style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|ʒ}}
| colspan=2 style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|ʂ}}
| colspan=2 style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|ʐ}}
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|x}}
| style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|ɣ}}
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" |
| style="border-right: none;" | {{IPA link|h}}
| style="border-left: none;" |
|-
! [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" |
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|l}}
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" |
| colspan="2" rowspan="2" style="border-right: none;" |{{IPA link|ɽ}}*
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|j}}
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|w}}
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" |
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" |
|-
! [[Rhotic consonant|Rhotic]]
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" |
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" | {{IPA link|r}}
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" |
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" |
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" |
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" |
| style="border-right: none;" |
| style="border-left: none;" |
|}
<small>*The retroflex rhotic or lateral, tends to be a [[Voiced retroflex lateral flap|lateral flap]] [{{IPA link|𝼈}}</small>] <small>at the beginning of a syllable or other prosodic unit, and a regular [[Voiced retroflex flap|flap]] [{{IPA link|ɽ}}</small>] <small>or [[Voiced retroflex approximant|approximant]] [{{IPA link|ɻ}}] elsewhere.<ref name="pashto1">D.N. MacKenzie, 1990, "Pashto", in Bernard Comrie, ed, ''The major languages of South Asia, the Middle East and Africa'', p. 103</ref><ref name="pashto2">Herbert Penzl, 1965, ''A reader of Pashto'', p 7</ref></small>

==Vocabulary==
{{See also|Pashto_dialects#Lexemes}}
In Pashto, most of the native elements of the lexicon are related to other [[Eastern Iranian languages]].<ref name="Iranica-Pashto" /> As noted by Josef Elfenbein, "Loanwords have been traced in Pashto as far back as the third century B.C., and include words from Greek and probably Old Persian".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kaye|first=Alan S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T6jmziooEk0C|title=Phonologies of Asia and Africa: (including the Caucasus)|date=1997-06-30|publisher=Eisenbrauns|isbn=978-1-57506-019-4|location=|pages=736|language=en}}</ref> For instance, [[Georg Morgenstierne]] notes the Pashto word {{lang|ps|مېچن}} {{Transliteration|ps|mečə́n}} i.e. ''a hand-mill'' as being derived from the Ancient Greek word {{lang|grc-x-koine|μηχανή}} ({{Transliteration|grc|mēkhanḗ}}, i.e. a device).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Morgenstierne|first=Georg|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YXEMAQAAMAAJ|title=A New Etymological Vocabulary of Pashto|date=2003|publisher=Reichert|isbn=978-3-89500-364-6|location=|pages=48|language=en}}</ref> Post-7th century borrowings came primarily from [[Persian language|Persian]] and [[Hindi-Urdu]], with Arabic words being borrowed through Persian,<ref>John R. Perry, "Lexical Areas and Semantic Fields of Arabic" in Éva Ágnes Csató, Eva Agnes Csato, Bo Isaksson, Carina Jahani, ''Linguistic convergence and areal diffusion: case studies from Iranian, Semitic and Turkic'', Routledge, 2005. p. 97: "It is generally understood that the bulk of the Arabic vocabulary in the central, contiguous Iranian, Turkic and Indic languages was originally borrowed into literary Persian between the ninth and thirteenth centuries"</ref> but sometimes directly.<ref>{{Cite journal|jstor=4030748|title=Areal Lexical Contacts of the Afghan (Pashto) Language (Based on the Texts of the XVI-XVIII Centuries)|author=Vladimir Kushev|volume=1|journal=Iran and the Caucasus|pages=159–166|year=1997 |doi=10.1163/157338497x00085}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8qUJAAAAIAAJ&q=pashto+vocabulary+hindustani&pg=PA75|quote=At the same time Pashto has borrowed largely from Persian and Hindustani, and through those languages from Arabic.|title=Census of India, 1931, Volume 17, Part 2|pages=292|journal=[[Times of India]]|year=1937|access-date=7 June 2009|last1=Census Commissioner|first1=India}}</ref> Modern speech borrows words from English, [[French language|French]], and [[German language|German]].<ref name="Penzl2">{{Cite journal|doi=10.2307/594900 |journal=[[Journal of the American Oriental Society]]|author=Herbert Penzl|date=January–March 1961|title=Western Loanwords in Modern Pashto|volume=81|issue=1|pages=43–52|jstor=594900}}</ref>

However, a remarkably large number of words are unique to Pashto.<ref name="BensonKosonen20132">{{cite book|author1=Carol Benson|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tdREAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA64|title=Language Issues in Comparative Education: Inclusive Teaching and Learning in Non-Dominant Languages and Cultures|author2=Kimmo Kosonen|date=13 June 2013|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-94-6209-218-1|pages=64}}</ref><ref name="Ehsan M Entezar 2008 89">{{cite book|author=Ehsan M Entezar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fdTJgCSPsGwC&q=pashto+purification&pg=PA89|title=Afghanistan 101: Understanding Afghan Culture|publisher=Xlibris Corporation|year=2008|isbn=978-1-4257-9302-9|page=89}}</ref>

Here is an exemplary list of Pure Pashto and borrowings:<ref name="A dictionary of the Puk'hto, Pus'hto, or language of the Afghans">{{Cite book|title=A dictionary of the Puk'hto, Pus'hto, or language of the Afghans|author-link=Henry George Raverty|last=Raverty|first=Henry George Rahman|year=1867|edition=2|publisher=Williams and Norgate|location=London |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/raverty/}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://qamosona.com/G/index.php|title=Qamosona.com|website=qamosona.com}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
! Pashto !! Persian Loan !! Arabic Loan !! Meaning
|-
| {{nq|{{lang|ps|چوپړ}}}}<br />'''{{Transliteration|ps|čopáṛ}}'''|| {{lang|fa|خدمت}}<br /> {{Transliteration|fa|khidmat}}||{{lang|ar|خدمة}}<br />{{Transliteration|ar|khidmah}} || service
|-
| {{nq|{{lang|ps|هڅه}}}}<br />'''{{Transliteration|ps|hátsa}}'''|| {{lang|fa|کوشش}}<br /> {{Transliteration|fa|kušeš}} || || effort/try
|-
| {{nq|{{lang|ps|ملګری}}}}, {{nq|{{lang|ps|ملګرې}}}}<br />'''{{Transliteration|ps|malgə́ray, malgə́re}}'''|| {{lang|fa|دوست}}<br />{{Transliteration|fa|dost}} || || friend
|-
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|نړۍ}}}}<br/>'''''naṛә́i'''''
|{{lang|fa|جهان}}<br/>{{Transliteration|fa|jahān}}
|{{lang|ar|دنيا}}<br/>{{Transliteration|ar|dunyā}}
|world
|-
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|تود/توده}}}}<br/>'''{{Transliteration|ps|tod/táwda}}'''
|{{lang|fa|گرم}}<br/>{{Transliteration|fa|garm}}
|
|hot
|-
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|اړتيا}}}}<br/>'''{{Transliteration|ps|aṛtyā́}}'''
|
|{{lang|ar|ضرورة}}<br/>{{Transliteration|ar|ḍarurah}}
|need
|-
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|هيله}}}}<br/>'''{{Transliteration|ps|híla}}'''
|{{lang|fa|اميد}}<br/>{{Transliteration|fa|umid}}
|
|hope
|-
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|د ... په اړه}}}}<br/>'''{{Transliteration|ps|də...pə aṛá}}'''
|{{lang|fa|باره}}<br/>{{Transliteration|ar|bāra}}
|
|about
|-
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|بوللـه}}}}<br/>'''''bolә́la'''''
|
|{{lang|ar|قصيدة}}<br/>{{Transliteration|ar|qasidah}}
|an ode
|}
Due to the incursion of [[Persian language|Persian]] and [[Arabic|Persianized-Arabic]] in modern speech, [[linguistic purism]] of Pashto is advocated to prevent its  own vocabulary from dying out.<ref name="Ehsan M Entezar 2008 89"/>{{Self-published inline|certain=yes|date=December 2017}}<ref name="BensonKosonen2013">{{cite book|author1=Carol Benson|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tdREAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA64|title=Language Issues in Comparative Education: Inclusive Teaching and Learning in Non-Dominant Languages and Cultures|author2=Kimmo Kosonen|date=13 June 2013|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-94-6209-218-1|pages=64–}}</ref><ref>[http://www.hewad.com/mohammadgul/ Muhammad Gul Khan Momand] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128042752/http://www.hewad.com/mohammadgul/ |date=28 January 2021 }}, Hewād Afghanistan</ref>

=== Classical vocabulary ===
There is a lot of old vocabulary that has been replaced by borrowings e.g. {{lang|ps|پلاز|nocat=y}} {{lang|ps-Latn|plâz|nocat=y}}<ref>{{Cite web | title=پلاز – Pashto English Dictionary 2015 [Ahmad Wali Achakzai] | url=https://qamosona.com/G3/index.php/term/,6f57b19b61545da79b9ea5acae615c.xhtml | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625102459/https://qamosona.com/G3/index.php/term/,6f57b19b61545da79b9ea5acae615c.xhtml | access-date=2025-03-21 | archive-date=2021-06-25}}</ref> 'throne' with {{lang|fa|تخت}} {{lang|fa-Latn|takht}}, from Persian.<ref>Pata Khanaza by M. Hotak (1762–1763), translated by K. Habibi  page 21,  [http://alamahabibi.net/English_Articles/E_Pata_Khazana__Pashto-Eng.pdf Alama Habibi Portal.]</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Habibi |first=Khushal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QsP9T48RnUEC&q=pata+khazana&pg=PA188 |title=The Hidden Treasure: A Biography of Pas̲htoon Poets |date=1997 |publisher=University Press of America |isbn=978-0-7618-0265-5 |pages=225 |language=en }}</ref> Or the word {{lang|ps|يګانګي|nocat=y}} {{lang|ps-Latn|yagānagí|nocat=y}}<ref>{{Cite web | title=يګانګي - Pashto English Dictionary 2015 [Ahmad Wali Achakzai] | url=https://qamosona.com/G3/index.php/term/,6f57b19b61545da79b9ea5aeac5d53a6.xhtml | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625095303/https://qamosona.com/G3/index.php/term/,6f57b19b61545da79b9ea5aeac5d53a6.xhtml | access-date=2025-03-21 | archive-date=2021-06-25}}</ref> meaning 'uniqueness' used by [[Pir Roshan|Pir Roshan Bayazid]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Faqir |first=Faqir Muhammad |year=2014 |title=The Neologism of Bayazid Ansari |url=http://khyber.org/pacademy/journal/pdf/2014-Pasht-43-Faqir-TheNeologi.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211014062439/http://khyber.org/pacademy/journal/pdf/2014-Pasht-43-Faqir-TheNeologi.pdf |url-status=usurped |archive-date=14 October 2021 |journal=Pashto |volume=43 |issue=647–648 |pages=147–165 }}</ref> Such classical vocabulary is being reintroduced to modern Pashto.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pashtoon |first=Zeeya A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YKACSQAACAAJ&q=zeeya+a+pashto+dictionary |title=Pashto–English Dictionary |date=2009 |publisher=Dunwoody Press |isbn=978-1-931546-70-6 |pages=144 |language=en }}</ref> Some words also survive in dialects like {{lang|ps|ناوې پلاز}} 'the bride-room'.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Momand |first=Qalandar |title=Daryab Pashto Glossary |url=https://qamosona.com/G/index.php/term/,63b05a9daea7a56f69b05aae5cada65c.xhtml}}</ref>

Example from [[Khayr al-Bayān]]:<ref name=":0" />

: {{nq|{{lang|ps|2=
... بې يګانګئ بې قرارئ وي او په بدخوئ کښې وي په ګناهان
}}}}
: '''Transliteration:''' {{lang|ps-Latn|... '''be-yagānagə́i''', be-kararə́i wi aw pə badxwə́i kx̌e wi pə gunāhā́n|italic=no}}
: '''Translation:''' "... without '''singularity/uniqueness''', without calmness and by bad-attitude are on sin ."

==Writing system==
{{Main|Pashto alphabet}}
Pashto employs the [[Pashto alphabet]], a modified form of the [[Perso-Arabic alphabet]] or [[Arabic script]].<ref>{{cite book |first=John |last=Hladczuk |title=International Handbook of Reading Education |date=1992 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=9780313262531 |page=148 |url=https://archive.org/details/internationalhan0000unse_l7a6/page/148 }}</ref> In the 16th century, [[Pir Roshan|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<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ullah |first1=Noor |title=Pashto Grammar |date=2011 |publisher=AuthorHouse |isbn=978-1-4567-8007-4 |page=5 }}</ref> and 4 diacritic marks. Latin Pashto is also used.<ref>[[BGN/PCGN romanization]]</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Romanization system for Pashto|url=http://earth-info.nga.mil/gns/html/Romanization_Pashto.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120619102945/http://earth-info.nga.mil/gns/html/Romanization_Pashto.pdf|archive-date=2012-06-19|access-date=2012-02-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=NGA: Standardization Policies|url=http://earth-info.nga.mil/gns/html/romanization.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130213212545/http://earth-info.nga.mil/gns/html/romanization.html|archive-date=2013-02-13|work=nga.mil}}</ref> 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:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ا}}</span><br />ā<br />{{IPA|/ɑ, a/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ب}}</span><br />b<br />{{IPA|/b/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|پ}}</span><br />p<br />{{IPA|/p/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ت}}</span><br />t<br />{{IPA|/t/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ټ}}</span><br />ṭ<br />{{IPA|/ʈ/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ث}}</span><br />(s)<br />{{IPA|/s/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ج}}</span><br />ǧ<br />{{IPA|/d͡ʒ/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ځ}}</span><br />g, dz<br />{{IPA|/d͡z/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|چ}}</span><br />č<br />{{IPA|/t͡ʃ/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|څ}}</span><br />c, ts<br />{{IPA|/t͡s/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ح}}</span><br />(h)<br />{{IPA|/h/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|خ}}</span><br />x<br />{{IPA|/x/}}
|-
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|د}}</span><br />d<br />{{IPA|/d/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ډ}}</span><br />ḍ<br />{{IPA|/ɖ/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ﺫ}}</span><br />(z)<br />{{IPA|/z/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ﺭ}}</span><br />r<br />{{IPA|/r/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ړ}}</span><br />ṛ<br />{{IPA|/ɺ, ɻ, ɽ/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ﺯ}}</span><br />z<br />{{IPA|/z/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ژ}}</span><br />ž<br />{{IPA|/ʒ/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ږ}}</span><br />ǵ (''or'' ẓ̌)<br />{{IPA|/ʐ, ʝ, ɡ, ʒ/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|س}}</span><br />s<br />{{IPA|/s/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ش}}</span><br />š<br />{{IPA|/ʃ/}}
| colspan="2" |<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ښ}}</span><br />x̌ (''or'' ṣ̌)<br />{{IPA|/ʂ, ç, x, ʃ/}}
|-
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ص}}</span><br />(s)<br />{{IPA|/s/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ض}}</span><br />(z)<br />{{IPA|/z/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ط}}</span><br />(t)<br />{{IPA|/t/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ظ}}</span><br />(z)<br />{{IPA|/z/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ع}}</span><br />(ā)<br />{{IPA|/ɑ/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|غ}}</span><br />ğ<br />{{IPA|/ɣ/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ف}}</span><br />f<br />{{IPA|/f/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ق}}</span><br />q<br />{{IPA|/q/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ک}}</span><br />k<br />{{IPA|/k/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ګ}}</span><br />ģ<br />{{IPA|/ɡ/}}
| colspan="2" |<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ل}}</span><br />l<br />{{IPA|/l/}}
|-
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|م}}</span><br />m<br />{{IPA|/m/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ن}}</span><br />n<br />{{IPA|/n/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ڼ}}</span><br />ṇ<br />{{IPA|/ɳ/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ں}}</span><br /> ̃ , ń<br />{{IPA|/◌̃/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|و}}</span><br />w, u, o<br />{{IPA|/w, u, o/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ه}}</span><br />h, a<br />{{IPA|/h, a/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ۀ}}</span><br />ə<br />{{IPA|/ə/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ي}}</span><br />y, i<br />{{IPA|/j, i/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ې}}</span><br />e<br />{{IPA|/e/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ی}}</span><br />ay, y<br />{{IPA|/ai, j/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ۍ}}</span><br />əi<br />{{IPA|/əi/}}
|<span style="font-size:150%;line-height:28pt">{{lang|ps|ئ}}</span><br />əi, y<br />{{IPA|/əi, j/}}
|}

==Dialects==
{{Main|Pashto dialects}}
Pashto dialects are divided into two categories, the "soft" southern grouping of ''Paṣ̌tō'', and the "hard" northern grouping of ''Pax̌tō'' (Pakhtu).<ref name="T&F">{{cite book |last1=Claus |first1=Peter J. |last2=Diamond |first2=Sarah |last3=Ann Mills |first3=Margaret |title=South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia : Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka |date=2003 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9780415939195 |page=447| language=en}}</ref> Each group is further divided into a number of dialects. The Southern dialect of [[Wanetsi|Tareeno]] is the most distinctive Pashto dialect.{{Listen|type=speech|header={{lang|ps|اوږد}} {{gloss|long}} - in different dialects|filename=اوږد.ogg|title=South Western (Kandahar)|description=IPA: {{IPA|/uʐd/}}|filename2=اوږد-ګ.ogg|title2=North Western (Jalalabad)|description2=IPA: {{IPA|/uɡd/}}|filename3=اوږد-خوست.ogg|title3=Northern (Khost)|description3=IPA: {{IPA|/wuɡd/}}|filename4=اوږد-کندز.ogg|title4=Southern (Kunduz)|description4=IPA: {{IPA|/wuʐd/}}|filename5=اوږد-يسپزی-يوسفزی.ogg|title5=North Eastern (Yusapzai)|description5=IPA: {{IPA|/u.ɡəˈd/}}}}1. '''[[Southern Pashto|Southern variety]]'''
:*''[[Durrani|Abdaili]]'' or Kandahar dialect (or '''''South Western'''''  dialect)
:*''Kakar'' dialect (or '''''South Eastern''''' dialect)
:*''Shirani'' dialect
:*''Mandokhel'' dialect
:*''Marwat-Bettani'' dialect
:*'''<u>[[Central Pashto|Southern Karlani group]]</u>'''
::*''Khattak'' dialect
::*''[[Wazirwola]]'' dialect
:::*''Dawarwola'' dialect
:::*''[[Masidwola]]'' dialect
::*''Banisi (Banu)'' dialect

2. '''[[Northern Pashto|Northern variety]]'''
:*''Central Ghilji'' dialect (or '''''North Western''''' dialect)
:*Yusapzai and Momand dialect (or '''''North Eastern''''' dialect)
:*'''<u>[[Central Pashto|Northern Karlani group]]</u>'''
::*''Wardak'' dialect
::*''Taniwola'' dialect
::*''[[Mangal tribe]]'' dialect
::*''Khosti'' dialect
::*''Zadran'' dialect
::*''Bangash-Orakzai-Turi-Zazi'' dialect
::*''[[Afridi Pashto|Afridi]]'' dialect
::*''Khogyani'' dialect

3.''' [[Wanetsi|Tareeno]] Dialect'''

== Literary Pashto ==
Literary Pashto is the artificial variety of Pashto that is used at times as [[Literary language|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.<ref name="Coyle 2014">{{Cite thesis |type=Master's thesis |last=Coyle|first=Dennis Walter|date=2014-01-01|title=Placing Wardak Among Pashto Varieties|url=https://commons.und.edu/theses/1635 |publisher=University of North Dakota}}</ref>

=== Criticism ===
There is no actual Pashto that can be identified as  "Standard" Pashto, as Colye remarks:<ref name="Coyle 2014"/>
{{Blockquote|text="Standard Pashto is actually fairly complex with multiple varieties or forms. Native speakers or researchers often refer to Standard Pashto without specifying which variety of Standard Pashto they mean...people sometimes refer to Standard Pashto when they mean the most respected or favorite Pashto variety among a majority of Pashtun speakers."|title=Placing Wardak among Pashto Varieties|source=page 4}}
According to David MacKenzie, there is no real need to develop a "Standard" Pashto:<ref>{{Cite journal|last=MacKenzie|first=D. N.|date=1959|title=A Standard Pashto|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/609426|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London|volume=22|issue=1/3|pages=231–235|jstor=609426|issn=0041-977X}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=February 2025}}
{{Blockquote|text="The morphological differences between the most extreme north-eastern and south-western dialects are comparatively few and unimportant. The criteria of dialect differentiation in Pashto are primarily phonological. With the use of an alphabet which disguises these phonological differences the language has, therefore, been a literary vehicle, widely understood, for at least four centuries. This literary language has long been referred to in the West as 'common' or 'standard' Pashto without, seemingly, any real attempt to define it."|title=A Standard Pashto|source=page 231}}

==Literature==
{{Main|Pashto literature and poetry}}

Pashto-speakers have long had a tradition of [[oral literature]], including [[Afghan proverbs|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 [[verb]]s 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]]:

{{nq|{{lang|ps|2=
زۀ رحمٰن پۀ خپله ګرم يم  چې مين يم<br />
چې دا نور ټوپن مې بولي ګرم په څۀ
}}}}

'''Pronunciation''': {{ipa|[zə raˈmɑn pə ˈxpəl.a ɡram jəm t͡ʃe maˈjan jəm<br />
t͡ʃe dɑ nor ʈoˈpən me boˈli ɡram pə t͡sə]}}

'''Transliteration:''' {{Transliteration|ps|Zə Rahmā́n pə xpə́la gram yəm če mayán yəm<br />
Če dā nor ṭopə́n me bolí gram pə tsə}}

'''Translation:''' "I Rahman, myself am guilty that I am a lover,<br />
On what does this other universe call me guilty."

===Proverbs===
{{See also|Pashto literature and poetry#Proverbs}}

Pashto also has a rich heritage of proverbs (Pashto ''matalúna'', sg. ''matál'').<ref>{{cite book |last=Zellem |first=Edward |author-link=Edward Zellem |year=2014 |title=Mataluna: 151 Afghan Pashto Proverbs |publisher=Cultures Direct Press |isbn=978-0692215180}}</ref><ref>Bartlotti, Leonard and Raj Wali Shah Khattak, eds. (2006). ''Rohi Mataluna: Pashto Proverbs'', (revised and expanded edition). First edition by Mohammad Nawaz Tair and Thomas C. Edwards, eds. Peshawar, Pakistan: Interlit and Pashto Academy, Peshawar University.</ref> An example of a proverb:

{{nq|{{lang|ps|2=اوبه په ډانګ نه بېلېږي}}}}

'''Transliteration:''' O''bә́ pə ḍāng nə beléẓ̌i''

'''Translation:''' "One cannot divide water by [hitting it with] a pole."

== Phrases ==

=== Greeting phrases ===
{| class="wikitable"
!Greeting
!Pashto
!Transliteration
!Literal meaning
|-
| rowspan="3" |Hello
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|ستړی مه شې<br />ستړې مه شې}}}}
|stә́ṛay mә́ še<br/>stә́ṛe mә́ še
|May you not be tired
|-
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|ستړي مه شئ}}}}
|stә́ṛi mә́ šəi
|May you not be tired [said to people]
|-
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|په خير راغلې}}}}
|pə xair rā́ğle
|With goodness (you) came
|-
|Thank you
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|مننه}}}}
|manә́na
|Acceptance [from the verb {{nq|{{lang|ps|منل}}}}]
|-
| rowspan=2|Goodbye
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|په مخه دې ښه}}}}
|pə mә́kha de x̌á
|On your front be good
|-
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|خدای پامان}}}}
|xwdā́i pāmā́n
|From: {{nq|{{lang|ps|خدای په امان}}}} [With/On God's security]
|-
|}

=== Colors ===
====List of colors====
{{gallery items
|{{color sample|w=10|rgb(255,0,0)}}|{{nq|{{lang|ps|سور/ سره}}}} sur/sra [red]
|{{color sample|w=10|rgb(0,128,0)}}| šin / šna [green]
|{{color sample|w=10|rgb(159,0,197)}}|{{nq|{{lang|ps|کینخي}}}} kinaxí [purple]
|{{color sample|w=10|rgb(0,0,0)}}|{{nq|{{lang|ps|تور/ توره}}}} tor/tóra [black]
|{{color sample|w=10|rgb(0,0,255)}}|šin / šna [blue]
|{{color sample|w=10|rgb(255,255,255)}}|{{nq|{{lang|ps|سپین}}}} spin/spína [white]
|{{color sample|w=10|rgb(150,75,0)}}|{{nq|{{lang|ps|نسواري}}}} naswārí [brown]
|{{color sample|w=10|rgb(255,227,2)}}|{{nq|{{lang|ps|ژېړ/ ژېړه}}}} žeṛ/žéṛa [yellow]
|{{color sample|w=10|rgb(238,130,238)}}|{{nq|{{lang|ps|چوڼيا}}}} čuṇyā́  [violet]
|{{color sample|w=10|rgb(190,190,190)}}|{{nq|{{lang|ps|خړ / خړه}}}} xәṛ/xə́ṛa  [grey]
}}

====List of colors borrowed from neighbouring languages====

* '''{{nq|{{lang|ps|نارنجي}}}}''' ''nārәnjí'' – orange <small>[from [[Persian language|Persian]]]</small>
* '''{{nq|{{lang|ps|ګلابي}}}}''' ''gulābí'' – pink <small>[from [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]], originally Persian]</small>
* '''{{nq|{{lang|ps|نيلي}}}}''' ''nilí'' – indigo <small>[from [[Persian language|Persian]], ultimately [[Sanskrit]]]</small>]

=== Times of the day ===
[[File:Ps-times.jpg|thumb|Parts of the day in Pashto]]
{| class="wikitable"
!Time
!Pashto
!Transliteration
!IPA
|-
|Morning
|style="direction:rtl"|{{nq|{{lang|ps|ګهيځ}}}}
|gahí<span style="line-height:20pt">ź</span>
|{{IPA|/ɡaˈhid͡z/}}
|-
|Noon
|style="direction:rtl"|{{nq|{{lang|ps|غرمه}}}}
|ğarmá
|{{IPA|/ɣarˈma/}}
|-
|Afternoon
|style="direction:rtl"|{{nq|{{lang|ps|ماسپښين}}}}
|māspasx̌ín
|Kandahar: {{IPA|/mɑs.paˈʂin/}}<br />Yusapzai: {{IPA|/mɑs.paˈxin/}}<br />Bannuchi: {{IPA|/məʃ.poˈʃin/}}<br />Marwat: {{IPA|/mɑʃˈpin/}}
|-
|Later afternoon
|style="direction:rtl"|{{nq|{{lang|ps|مازديګر<br />مازيګر}}}}
|māzdigár<br />māzigár
|{{IPA|/mɑz.di.ˈɡar/}}<br />{{IPA|/mɑ.zi.ˈɡar/}}
|-
|Evening
|style="direction:rtl"|{{nq|{{lang|ps|ماښام}}}}
|māx̌ā́m
|Kandahari: {{IPA|/mɑˈʂɑm/}}<br />Wardak: {{IPA|/mɑˈçɑm/}}<br />Yusapzai: {{IPA|/mɑˈxɑm/}}<br />Wazirwola: {{IPA|/lmɑˈʃɔm/}}<br />Marwat: {{IPA|/mɑˈʃɑm/}}
|-
|Late evening
|style="direction:rtl"|{{nq|{{lang|ps|ماسختن}}}}
|māsxután
|{{IPA|/mɑs.xwəˈtan/}}<br />{{IPA|/mɑs.xʊˈtan/}}
|}

=== Months ===
Pashtuns use the [[Vikrami calendar]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Jazab|first=Yousaf Khan|title=An Ethno-Linguistic Study of the Karlanri Varieties of Pashto|publisher=Pashto Academy, University of Peshawar|year=|isbn=|location=|pages=342–343}}</ref> in Pakistan, and the [[Solar Hijri calendar]] in Afghanistan. Below are the terms designated for the Vikrami months:
{| class="wikitable"
!#
! [[Vikram Samvat#Months|Vikrami month]]<ref name="fuller292">{{cite book|author=Christopher John Fuller|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=To6XSeBUW3oC|title=The Camphor Flame: Popular Hinduism and Society in India|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2004|isbn=978-0-69112-04-85|pages=291–293}}</ref>
!Pashto
!Pashto<br/>[Karlāṇí dialects]
!Gregorian <br/>months
|-
|1
| align="center" |[[Chaitra]]
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|چېتر}}}}<br/>četә́r
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|چېتر}}}}<br/>četә́r
| align="center" |March–April
|-
|2
| align="center" |[[Vaisakha|Vaisākha]]
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|ساک}}}}<br/>sāk
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|وسيوک}}}}<br/>wasyók
| align="center" |April–May
|-
|3
| align="center" |[[Jyeshta]]
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|جېټ}}}}<br/>jeṭ
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|ژېټ}}}}<br/>žeṭ
| align="center" |May–June
|-
|4
| align="center" |[[Aashaadha|Āshāda]]
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|هاړ}}}}<br/>hāṛ
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|اووړ}}}}<br/>awóṛ
| align="center" |June–July
|-
|5
| align="center" |[[Shraavana]]
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|ساوڼ یا پشکال}}}}<br/>sāwә́ṇ
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|واسه}}}}<br/>wā́sa
| align="center" |July–August
|-
|6
| align="center" |[[Bhadrapada|Bhādra]]
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|بدرو}}}}<br/>badrú
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|بادري}}}}<br/>bā́dri
| align="center" |August–September
|-
|7
| align="center" |[[Ashvin|Ashwina]]
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|آسو}}}}<br/>āsú
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|اسي}}}}<br/>ássi
| align="center" |September–October
|-
|8
| align="center" |[[Kartika (month)|Kartika]]
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|کاتۍ / کاتک}}}}<br/>kātә́i /  kāták
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|کاتيې}}}}<br/>kā́tye
| align="center" |October–November
|-
|9
| align="center" |Mārgasirsa<br/>([[Agrahayana]])
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|منګر}}}}<br/>mangә́r
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|مانګر}}}}<br/>mā́ngər
| align="center" |November–December
|-
|10
| align="center" |[[Pausha]]
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|چيله}}}}<br/>čilá
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|پو}}}}<br/>po
| align="center" |December–January
|-
|11
| align="center" |[[Maagha|Māgha]]
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|بله چيله}}}}<br/>bә́la čilá
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|کونزله}}}}<br/>kunzә́la
| align="center" |January–February
|-
|12
| align="center" |[[Phalguna|Phālguna]]
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|پاګڼ}}}}<br/>pāgáṇ
|{{nq|{{lang|ps|اربشه}}}}<br/>arbә́ša
| align="center" |February–March
|}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |last=Hallberg |first=Daniel G. |year=1992 |title=Pashto, Waneci, Ormuri |series=Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Pakistan |volume=4 |publisher=National Institute of Pakistani Studies |isbn=969-8023-14-3 |oclc=1034637486}}
* {{cite book |last=Morgenstierne |first=Georg |author-link=Georg Morgenstierne |orig-date=1926, pub. by Aschehoug, Oslo |title=Report on a Linguistic Mission to Afghanistan |series=[[Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture|Instituttet for Sammenlignende Kulturforskning]] Serie C I-2 |isbn=978-0-923891-09-1 |year=2007 |publisher=Ishi Press International |location=New York}}
* {{cite book |last=Penzl |first=Herbert |author-link=Herbert Penzl |title=A Grammar of Pashto: A Descriptive Study of the Dialect of Kandahar, Afghanistan |isbn=978-0-923891-72-5 |year=2009 |publisher=Ishi Press |location=New York |orig-date=1955, pub. by American Council of Learned Societies, Washington, DC}}
* {{cite book |last=Penzl |first=Herbert |title=A Reader of Pashto |year=2009 |publisher=Ishi Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-923891-71-8 |orig-date=1962, pub. by University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, MI}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Schmidt |editor-first=Rüdiger|title=Compendium Linguarum Iranicarum |publisher=L. Reichert |location=Wiesbaden |year=1989 |isbn=3-88226-413-6}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal |last=Morgenstierne |first=Georg |title=The Place of Pashto among the Iranic Languages and the Problem of the Constitution of Pashtun Linguistic and Ethnic Unity |journal=Paṣto Quarterly |volume=1 |issue=4 |year=1978 |pages=43–55}}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Boyle David |editor1-first=Anne |editor2-last=Brugman |editor2-first=Claudia |title=Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and its Dialects |location=Berlin, Boston |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |date=2014 |doi=10.1515/9781614512318|isbn=978-1-61451-303-2 }}

==External links==
{{InterWiki|code=ps}}
{{Commons category|Pashto language}}
{{Wiktionary}}
{{Wikivoyage|Pashto phrasebook|Pashto|a phrasebook}}
* [http://www.thepashto.com/ Pashto Dictionary with Phonetic Keyboard & Auto-Suggestion]
* [https://pukhtoogle.com/pashto Pashto Phonetic Keyboard]
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110613163011/http://www.khyber.org/publications/pdf/pashtolangformation.pdf Pashto Language & Identity Formation in Pakistan]}}
* [[Henry George Raverty]]. [https://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/raverty/ ''A Dictionary of the Puk'hto, Pus'hto, or Language of the Afghans'']. Second edition, with considerable additions. London: Williams and Norgate, 1867.
* D. N. MacKenzie, {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20051024005638/http://khyber.org/publications/026-030/standardpashto.shtml "A Standard Pashto"]}}, Khyber.org
* [http://www.qamosona.com/ Freeware Online Pashto Dictionaries]
* [http://www.yorku.ca/twainweb/troberts/pashto/pashlex1.html A Pashto Word List]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111223185020/http://www.afghanwiki.com/en/index.php?title=Pashto Origins of Pashto]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130310001121/http://uiuc.libguides.com/content.php?pid=194326&sid=1628823 Resources for the Study of the Pashto Language]

{{Pashto language|state=expanded}}
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