Pashto

Pashto
پښتو
Pashto written in Pashto script (Naskh style).
Pronunciation	] [paʂˈto], [paçˈto], [puxˈto]
Native to	Afghanistan; province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Region	Pashto Region
Ethnicity	Pashtun people
Native speakers	40–60 million (2007–2009)[1][2]
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Iranian Eastern Iranian Northeastern[3] Pashto
Standard forms	Northern Pashto Southern Pashto
Dialects	Kabuli Kandahari Yusufzai Khattak Wola Paktia Other Pashto dialects
Writing system	Arabic (Pashto alphabet)
Official status
Official language in	Afghanistan[4]
Recognised minority language in	Pakistan[5]
Regulated by	Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan Pashto Academy (Pakistan)[6]
Language codes
ISO 639-1	ps
ISO 639-2	pus
ISO 639-3	pus – inclusive code Individual codes: pst – Central Pashto pbu – Northern Pashto pbt – Southern Pashto wne – Waneci
Linguasphere	58-ABD-a
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Pashto (also known as Pushto or Pakhto) is the official language of Afghanistan, and an official language of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.^[7] It is spoken by the Pashtuns living in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Pashtuns, its speakers, make up majority of the population in Afghanistan. They are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan and second largest ethnic group in Pakistan, where It is the provincial language in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Pashto belongs to the Indo-European languages family. It has two main dialects, western dialect and eastern dialect. The small difference between these two dialects is in the use of sounds.

1. ↑ Nationalencyklopedin "Världens 100 största språk 2007" The World's 100 Largest Languages in 2007 (39 million)
2. ↑ Penzl, Herbert; Ismail Sloan (2009). A Grammar of Pashto a Descriptive Study of the Dialect of khyber pakhtun khwa, pakistan. Ishi Press International. p. 210. ISBN 978-0-923891-72-5. Retrieved 2010-10-25. Estimates of the number of Pashto speakers range from 40 million to 60 million...
3. ↑ "AFGHANISTAN vi. Paṧto". G. Morgenstierne. Encyclopaedia Iranica. Archived from the original on 2012-01-22. Retrieved 2010-10-10. Paṧtō undoubtedly belongs to the Northeastern Iranic branch.
4. ↑ Constitution of Afghanistan - Chapter 1 The State, Article 16 (Languages) and Article 20 (Anthem)
5. ↑ "Population by Mother Tongue". Population Census Organization, Government of Pakistan. Archived from the original on 12 September 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
6. ↑ Sebeok, Thomas Albert (1976). Current Trends in Linguistics: Index. Walter de Gruyter. p. 705.
7. ↑ "Article Sixteen of the Constitution of Afghanistan". 2004. Archived from the original on October 28, 2013. Retrieved June 13, 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.