Pashto information

Pashto
Pashto
پښتو; Pax̌tó
	The word Pax̌tó written in the Pashto alphabet
Pronunciation	[pəʂˈto], [pʊxˈto], [pəçˈto], [pəʃˈto]
Native to	Afghanistan, Pakistan
Ethnicity	Pashtuns
Speakers	L1: 44 million (2017–2021); L2: 4.9 million (2022)
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Iranian Eastern Pashto; ; ; ;
Standard forms	Central Pashto; Northern Pashto; Southern Pashto;
Dialects	Pashto dialects
Writing system	Pashto alphabet
Official status
Official language in	Afghanistan; Pakistan; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa;
Recognised minority; language in	Pakistan; Balochistan;
Regulated by	Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan; Pashto Academy of Pakistan; Pashto Academy Quetta
Language codes
ISO 639-1	ps – Pashto, Pushto
ISO 639-2	pus – Pushto, Pashto
ISO 639-3	pus – inclusive code – Pashto, Pushto; Individual codes:; pst – Central Pashto; pbu – Northern Pashto; pbt – Southern Pashto; wne – Wanetsi
Glottolog	pash1269 Pashto
Linguasphere	58-ABD-a
	Areas in Afghanistan and Pakistan where Pashto is: the predominant language spoken alongside other languages
	This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

This article contains Pashto text. Without proper rendering support, you may see unjoined letters or other symbols instead of Pashto script.

Pashto^[b] (/ˈpʌʃtoʊ/ PUH-shto,^[6]^[4]^[5]/ˈpæʃtoʊ/ PASH-toe;^[c] پښتو, Pəx̌tó, [pəʂˈto, pʊxˈto, pəʃˈto, pəçˈto]) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan, southern and eastern Afghanistan, and some isolated pockets of far eastern Iran near the Afghan border. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (افغانی, Afghāni).^[8]

Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages of Afghanistan alongside Dari,^[9]^[10]^[11] and it is the second-largest provincial language of Pakistan, spoken mainly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the northern districts of Balochistan.^[12] Likewise, it is the primary language of the Pashtun diaspora around the world. The total number of Pashto-speakers is at least 40 million,^[13] although some estimates place it as high as 60 million.^[14] Pashto is "one of the primary markers of ethnic identity" amongst Pashtuns.^[15]

^ ^a ^b Pashto at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)
Central Pashto at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)
Northern Pashto at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)
Southern Pashto at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)
Wanetsi at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)
^ "Private schools asked to introduce regional languages as compulsory subject". app.com.pk. 28 September 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
^ Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World. Elsevier. 6 April 2010. pp. 845–. ISBN 978-0-08-087775-4.
^ ^a ^b "Pashto (also Pushtu)". American Heritage Dictionary. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
^ ^a ^b "Pashto (also Pushtu)". Oxford Online Dictionaries, UK English. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 1 December 2015.
^ "Pashto (less commonly Pushtu)". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
^ "Pashto (also Pushto or Pushtu)". Oxford Online Dictionaries, US English. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 20 September 2015.
^ Cite error: The named reference Leyden was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Article Sixteen of the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan". 2004. Archived from the original on 28 October 2013. Retrieved 13 June 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.
^ Constitution of Afghanistan – Chapter 1 The State, Article 16 (Languages) and Article 20 (Anthem)
^ Banting, Erinn (2003). Afghanistan: The land. Crabtree Publishing Company. p. 4. ISBN 0-7787-9335-4. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
^ Population by Mother Tongue, Population Census – Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Government of Pakistan
^ Pashto (2005). Keith Brown (ed.). Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics (2 ed.). Elsevier. ISBN 0-08-044299-4. (40 million)
^ Penzl, Herbert; Ismail Sloan (2009). A Grammar of Pashto a Descriptive Study of the Dialect of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Ishi Press International. p. 210. ISBN 978-0-923891-72-5. Estimates of the number of Pashto speakers range from 40 million to 60 million...
^ Hakala, Walter (9 December 2011). Language Policy and Language Conflict in Afghanistan and Its Neighbors: The Changing Politics of Language Choice. Brill. p. 55. ISBN 978-90-04-21765-2. 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.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

[e27-1] Pashto at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)
Central Pashto at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)
Northern Pashto at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)
Southern Pashto at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)
Wanetsi at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)

[2] "Private schools asked to introduce regional languages as compulsory subject". app.com.pk. 28 September 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.

[4] Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World. Elsevier. 6 April 2010. pp. 845–. ISBN 978-0-08-087775-4.

[ahd-5] "Pashto (also Pushtu)". American Heritage Dictionary. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Retrieved 18 July 2016.

[OEDuk-6] "Pashto (also Pushtu)". Oxford Online Dictionaries, UK English. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 1 December 2015.

[8] "Pashto (less commonly Pushtu)". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Retrieved 18 July 2016.

[9] "Pashto (also Pushto or Pushtu)". Oxford Online Dictionaries, US English. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 20 September 2015.

[Leyden-11] Cite error: The named reference Leyden was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[AO-12] "Article Sixteen of the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan". 2004. Archived from the original on 28 October 2013. Retrieved 13 June 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.

[AC-13] Constitution of Afghanistan – Chapter 1 The State, Article 16 (Languages) and Article 20 (Anthem)

[14] Banting, Erinn (2003). Afghanistan: The land. Crabtree Publishing Company. p. 4. ISBN 0-7787-9335-4. Retrieved 22 August 2010.

[15] Population by Mother Tongue, Population Census – Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Government of Pakistan

[ELL2-16] Pashto (2005). Keith Brown (ed.). Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics (2 ed.). Elsevier. ISBN 0-08-044299-4. (40 million)

[Penzl-17] Penzl, Herbert; Ismail Sloan (2009). A Grammar of Pashto a Descriptive Study of the Dialect of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Ishi Press International. p. 210. ISBN 978-0-923891-72-5. Estimates of the number of Pashto speakers range from 40 million to 60 million...

[18] Hakala, Walter (9 December 2011). Language Policy and Language Conflict in Afghanistan and Its Neighbors: The Changing Politics of Language Choice. Brill. p. 55. ISBN 978-90-04-21765-2. 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.

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Pashto
پښتو Pax̌tó
The word Pax̌tó written in the Pashto alphabet
Pronunciation	[pəʂˈto], [pʊxˈto], [pəçˈto], [pəʃˈto]
Native to	Afghanistan, Pakistan
Ethnicity	Pashtuns
Speakers	L1: 44 million (2017–2021)^[1] L2: 4.9 million (2022)^[1]
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Iranian Eastern Pashto
Standard forms	Central Pashto Northern Pashto Southern Pashto
Dialects	Pashto dialects
Writing system	Pashto alphabet
Official status
Official language in	Afghanistan Pakistan Khyber Pakhtunkhwa^[a]
Recognised minority language in	Pakistan^[3] Balochistan
Regulated by	Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan Pashto Academy of Pakistan Pashto Academy Quetta
Language codes
ISO 639-1	`ps` – Pashto, Pushto
ISO 639-2	`pus` – Pushto, Pashto
ISO 639-3	`pus` – inclusive code – Pashto, Pushto Individual codes: `pst` – Central Pashto `pbu` – Northern Pashto `pbt` – Southern Pashto `wne` – Wanetsi
Glottolog	`pash1269` Pashto
Linguasphere	`58-ABD-a`
Areas in Afghanistan and Pakistan where Pashto is: the predominant language spoken alongside other languages
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.