Pashto language dialects

There are several classification options for Pashto dialects. Four regional standards (prestigious dialects) are usually distinguished: Peshawar (north-west), Kabul (north-east), Kandahar (south-east), Quetta (south-west).

According to historical and tribal criteria, Carlanian dialects (all "phonetic" central) are distinguished. According to the peculiarities of consonantism, the southern (western) and northern (eastern) branches are divided: in the first ʃ ~ ʂ and ʒ ~ ʐ, and in the second, x and g. According to the peculiarities of vocalism, central (southern) dialects are distinguished: in them, the literal vowel ɑ corresponds to the vowel ɒ ~ o, they, in turn, are divided into southern (with ʃ and ʒ and transitions o> e, u> i), northern (with x and g, without changes in o and u) and transitional (with x and g as in the north and transitions o> e, u> i as in the south).

Mutual understanding of the carriers of the central and "external" dialects is difficult. In central dialects, up to 15% of all Pashto-lingual speaks. They inhabit the provinces of Paktia and Khost, the northern and eastern parts of Paktika province in Afghanistan, as well as several districts of Nangrahar and Wardak provinces. In Pakistan, speakers of southern dialects are spread over a vast territory that fully covers the agencies of Kurram, North Waziristan, South Waziristan, and also part of Bannu County ^[4] .

Most of the Pashto speakers speak dialects of the northern branch, although geographically large territory is occupied by southern dialects.

1. South branch (or Western, Southwest, "soft" pashto)

• Kandahar Pashto (or south, southwest)
• Quetta Pashto (or Southeast)
• Sherani
• Marvati (Bettany)
• Language \ dialect of Vanetsi (sometimes not included)

2. Central dialects (or Southern)

Southern:

• Khattak
• Bannuci
• Masudvola (Masidvola)
• Wazirvola
• Gurbazvola

Transitional:

• Tanya
• Zadrani

Northern:

• Host
• Afridi
• Bangashi-Turi-Zazi
• Hogyani
• Wardaki

3. The northern branch (or East, North-East, "hard" buttermilk)

• Haroti
• Central Pashto (or northwest, Gilzai, Kabul dialect)
• Northern (or eastern, dialect of Jalal-Abad)
• Yusufzai (or northeast, Peshawar dialect)

The following table shows the pronunciation of individual sounds in various Pashto dialects. Pashto language variants are based on their variants. The most conservative is the Kandahar dialect . Transcription is given in MFA .

• Southern
• Central (southern)
• Central (transitional)
• Central (Northern)
• Northern

In addition, in the western and eastern branches you can find a difference in the pronunciation and spelling of individual words. Morphological differences are manifested in the different uses of prepositions, afterwords, verbs, pronouns, inflections. For example, as a bunch in the 2nd person pl. h. (the analogue is Church Slavonic and Old Russian. "(You) is natural") in the west the form ياست yȃst is used, in the east - ئۍ yəy or ياستۍ yȃstəy. In the western branch, نسته nəsta “no, not available” is widespread, and in the eastern branch - نشته, نشته دئ nəşta, nəşta dəy. Sometimes you can find the afterword كې, كي ke, ki in the obsolete form كښي, كښې kșe, kxe. In some dialects, the pronoun "mine, mine" looks like زما z (a) mȃ, in others - اېمو emo. Below is a table showing the sound of different words in different regions of Pashtunistan. As noted above, the most peculiar dialect of Pashto is Vanetsi , which can be heard in Harnay district and Sinjava technical force ^[5] .

For comparison, the following are sentences in the Kandaharian Pashto and the dialect \ language of Vanetsi. ^[7]

In addition to phonetic and morphological differences, among literate Pashtuns, there is no single system for writing Pashto words. Thus, the "Pakistani" and "Afghan" writing standards were developed. ^[8] . The table below illustrates some of these differences.

• Vanetsi (Pashto dialect)
• Central Pashto
• Wazirvola
• Kandahar dialect of Pashto language
• Yusufzai (Peshawar) Pashto
• Quetta Pashto
• Afridian pashto
• Northern Pashto