Pashto

Pashto language

Pashto , known as Afghani in Persian and Pathani in Punjabi , is the native language of the indigenous Pashtun people or Afghan people who are found primarily between an area south of the Amu Darya in Afghanistan and...

 has many accents as a consequence of life in areas of rugged terrain and other historic and linguistic reasons. The two main dialects are soft or southern accent and hard or northern dialect. The dividing line passes through southern Paktika, with the harder "" spoken north of the line, and the softer "Pato" south of it. The SIL

SIL International

SIL International is a U.S.-based, worldwide, Christian non-profit organization, whose main purpose is to study, develop and document languages, especially those that are lesser-known, in order to expand linguistic knowledge, promote literacy, translate the Christian Bible into local languages,...

 Ethnologue

Ethnologue

Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International , a Christian linguistic service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language and support their efforts in language development.The Ethnologue...

 divides Pasto into Northern, Central, Southern Pashto, and Waneci.

Dialects

The differences between the southern dialects and the northern dialects are primarily phonological and there are simple conversion rules. The morphological differences between them are very few and unimportant. However, the east-central dialects are lexicologically different and very varied. Certain dialects show many archaic features, some of which are discarded by the literary language. The southern dialect of Kandahar

Kandahar

Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...

 is the most conservative with regards to phonology, retaining the retroflex fricatives and the alveolar

Voiced alveolar affricate

The voiced alveolar affricate is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The sound is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet with ⟨⟩ or ⟨⟩ , and the equivalent X-SAMPA representation is ⟨dz⟩.-Features:...

 affricates

Voiceless alveolar affricate

The voiceless alveolar affricate is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The sound is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet with ⟨⟩ or ⟨⟩ . The voiceless alveolar affricate occurs in such languages as German, Cantonese, Italian, Russian, Japanese and Mandarin...

, which have not merged with other phonemes. One of the primary features of the dialects is the difference in the pronunciation of these seven phonemes. Column headings are the standard letters (five consonants and two vowels); sounds are transcribed in the IPA

International Phonetic Alphabet

The International Phonetic Alphabet "The acronym 'IPA' strictly refers [...] to the 'International Phonetic Association'. But it is now such a common practice to use the acronym also to refer to the alphabet itself that resistance seems pedantic...

:

Dialect	Location
Southern Abdali Durrani Durrani or Abdali is the name of a chief Pashtun tribal confederation in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Originally known by their ancient name Abdali later as Durrani they have been called Durrani since the beginning of the Durrani Empire in 1747. The number of Durranis are estimated to be roughly 16%...	Kandahar Kandahar Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level... , Zabul	[ʂ]	[ʐ]	[t͡s]	[d͡z]	[ʒ]	[ɑ]	[u]
Southeastern	Quetta Quetta is the largest city and the provincial capital of the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. Known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan" due to the diversity of its plant and animal wildlife, Quetta is home to the Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, which contains some of the rarest species of wildlife in the...	[ʃ]	[ʒ]	[t͡s]	[d͡z]	[ʒ]	[ɑ]	[u]
Central Waneci Tareeno Tareeno is a Pashto dialect which is spoken by a small population of Tareen tribes of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Its vocabulary is mainly from Banutsi and Marwat tribes of Bannu.Some words from Tareeno:*druma means go,*koosa means step down,...	Harnai Harnai District Harnai is a district in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. Harnai is the principal town of this district. It is located in the north east of Balochistan province... , Sinjawi Sinjawi Tehsil Sanjawi Tehsil is an administrative subdivision of Ziarat District in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The tehsil is administratively subdivided into five Union Councils and is heaquartered at the city of Sinjawi.-Towns:...	[ʂ]	[ʐ]	[t͡ʃ, t͡s]	[d͡ʒ, d͡z]	[z, ʒ]	[ɑ]	[u]
Central Marwat Marwat Marwat مروت, refers to a Pashtun tribe, located primarily in Lakki Marwat District in the south of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan as well the districts of Tank and Dera Ismail Khan...	Laki Lakki Marwat District Lakki Marwat is one of the Southern Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. It was created as an administrative district on July 1, 1992, prior to which it was a Tehsil of Bannu District.-Etymology:...	[ʃ]	[ʒ]	[t͡ʃ]	[d͡ʒ]	[ʒ]	[ɑ]	[u]
Central Khattak	Karak Karak District Karak is a district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is situated to the south of Kohat District and on the north side of Bannu and Lakki Marwat districts on the main Indus Highway between Peshawar and Karachi - it is 123 km from the provincial capital Peshawar...	[ʃ]	[ʒ]	[t͡s]	[z, t͡s]	[ʒ]	[o]	[u]
Central Banucei	Banu Bannu District Bannu District is one of the twenty four districts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, it is represented in the provincial assembly by four MPAs. The chief city of the district is Bannu. The major industries are cloth weaving and the manufacture of cotton fabrics, machinery, and...	[ʃ]	[ʒ]	[s]	[z, s]	[ʒ]	[o]	[i]
Central Wazirwola	Waziristan Waziristan Waziristan is a mountainous region near the Northwest of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering some 11,585 km² . The area is entirely populated by ethnic Pashtuns . The language spoken in the valley is Pashto/Pakhto...	[ɕ, ʃ]	[ʑ, ʒ]	[t͡s]	[d͡z, t͡s]	[ʑ, ʒ]	[o, u]	[i]
Central Khostwola	Khost Khost Province Khost is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the east of the country. Khost province used to be part of Paktia province in the past...	[ç]	[ɡ]	[t͡s]	[d͡z, t͡s]	[ʒ]	[o]	[i]
Central Dzadran	Dzadran, Paktia	[ç]	[ʝ]	[t͡s]	[d͡z, t͡s]	[ʒ]	[o]	[i]
Central Afridi	Tirah Tirah Tirah is a region located in Kurram and Khyber agencies of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan . It lies between the Khyber Pass and the Khanki Valley. It is inhabited by the Afridi and Orakzai tribes of Pashtuns... , Jamrud Jamrud Jamrud , is a town located in the Khyber Agency, one of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. The town is the doorway to the Khyber pass, part of the Hindu Kush range...	[x]	[ɡ]	[t͡s]	[z, t͡s]	[d͡ʒ]	[o]	[u]
Central Tori	Kurram	[x]	[ɡ]	[t͡s]	[z, t͡s]	[d͡ʒ]	[ɒ]	[u]
Northwestern	Ghazni Ghazni Province Ghazni is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. Babur records in his Babur-Nama that Ghazni is also known as Zabulistan It is in the east of the country. Its capital is Ghazni City... , Logar	[ç]	[ɡ]	[t͡s]	[d͡z]	[ʒ]	[ɑ]	[u]
Northwestern Wardak	Wardak Wardak Province Maidan Wardak Province is one of thirty four provinces of Afghanistan located in the central east region of Afghanistan. It has a population of approximately 540,100. The capital of the province is Maidan Shar...	[ç]	[ʝ]	[t͡s]	[d͡z]	[ʒ]	[ɒ]	[u]
Northwestern	Central Ghilzai Ghilzai Ghilzai are the largest Pashtun tribal confederacy found in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They are also known historically as Ghilji, Khilji, Ghalji, Ghilzye, and possibly Gharzai...	[ç]	[ʝ]	[s]	[z]	[ʒ]	[ɑ]	[u]
Northern	Nangarhar Nangarhar Province Nangarhar is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan in the east of the country. Its capital is the city of Jalalabad. The population of the province is 1,334,000, which consists mainly of ethnic Pashtuns with a sizable community of Arabs and Pashais.... , Kabul Kabul Province Kābul , situated in the east of the country, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. The capital of the province is Kabul City, which is also Afghanistan's capital. The population of Kabul province is 3.5 million people as of 2009, of which almost 80 percent live in the urban areas...	[x]	[ɡ]	[t͡s]	[z]	[ʒ]	[ɑ]	[u]
Northeastern	Yusufzai, Peshawar Peshawar Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....	[x]	[ɡ]	[s]	[z]	[d͡ʒ]	[ɑ]	[u]

Notable phonological and lexicological differences

Kandahar	Quetta	Harnai	Bannu	Wana	Khost	Tirah	Ghazni	Kabul	Peshawar	Translation
Pato	Pašto	Pato	Pāšte	Pāšte		Pāxto		Pəxto	Puxto	Pashto
war	war	war	tāmbə	tāmbə, wār		wār, tāmbə	war	war	war	door
	pša	, γədəi	pšā	pšā		pxā		pxa	xpa	foot
lmar	lmar	mer	myerə stərgā	γormə, myerə stərgā	myerə stərgā	myer, myerə stərga	nmar	nmar	nwar	sun
halək	halək	čora					halək	halək	halək	boy
		čuwara								girl
yaw	yaw	yo	ye	yo	ye	yo	yaw	yaw	yaw	one
calor	calor	čalor	sāler	cālwer	cāler	cālwor	calor	calor	salor	four
pindzə	pindzə	/pindzə	pinzə	pinzə	pindzə	pinzə	pindzə	pinzə	pinzə	five
špa	špaž	špo	špež	špež	špeg	špeg		špag	špag	six
cok	cok	čok	sek	cek	cek	cok	cok	cok	sok	who
mu	muž	mu	miž	miž	mig	mu/jo		mung	mung	we
zmā	zmā	zmā	emo	emo	emo	emo	zmâ	zəmā	zəmā	my
stā	stā	stā	eto	eto	eto	eto	stâ	stā	stā	your
										very, many
lə	ləž	lə	ləški	ləški	ləg	ləg		ləg	ləg	little, less
čəl	čšəl	γwətəl		čšəl		cəxəl		ckəl/čixəl	skəl	to drink
ho	ho	ho	ey	ey	ey	ey	ho	ho	ao	yes
yəm	yəm	yəm	yə	yə	yə	yəm	yəm	yəm	yəm	I am
jəm	jəm	, druməm	drimə, sə	drimə, cə	drimə, cə	cəm, druməm	jəm	zəm	zəm	I go
žəba	žəba	zbə	žəbā	žəbā	žəbā		žəba	žəba		tongue, language
kor	kor	kor	ker	ker	ker	kolə	kor	kor	kor	home
bega	bega	bega	vega	vega	vega	vega	bega	bega	bega	evening
sta	sta	sta	štā	štā	štā	štā	sta	šta	šta	it exists
yi	yiž	yirz	yiž	yiž	yig	yig	yi	yig	yig	bear
plār	plār	pyār	plor	plor	plor	plor	plâr	plār	plār	father
Kandahar	Quetta	Harnai	Bannu	Wana	Khost	Tirah	Ghazni	Kabul	Peshawar	Translation