Pashto language
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
Pashto (Naskh: پښتو, IPA: [pəʂ'to]), also rendered as Pakhto, Pushto, Pukhto, Pashtoe, Pashtu, Pushtu, Pathani or Pushtoo and also known as Afghani[4][5]) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by Pashtuns living in Afghanistan, Pakistan and some parts of Indian Occupied Kashmir.
Native speakers of Pashto account for 42.6% of the Afghan population and 15.42% of the Pakistani population. As defined in the Constitution, Pashto is the national and official language of Afghanistan and is used for the administration of the Afghan government throughout the country.
[change] Dialects
As a consequence of life in mountainous areas, weak socio-economic inter-relations, along with other historic and linguistic reasons, there are many dialects in Pashto language. However, as a whole, Pashto has two main dialects: soft or western dialect and hard or eastern dialect. The difference between these two dialects is in the use of some vowels and sounds.
[change] Classification
Pashto belongs to the Aryan (Northeast) subgroup of the Indo-Aryan branch. Indo-Aryan, furthermore, belongs to the Indo-European language family.
[change] Official status
Pashto is the national and official language of Afghanistan and a provincial langauge of Afghania of Pakistan; and is used for the administration of the government throughout the country. It is used in education, literature, office and court business, media, and in religious institutions, etc. It holds in itself a repository of the cultural and social heritage of the country.
