Pashto dialects ( də Pəx̌tó žәbgóṭi) can be divided into two large varieties: Northern Pashto and Southern Pashto. Each of the two varieties of Pashto is further divided into a number of dialects. Northern Pashto is spoken in eastern Afghanistan, and central, northern and eastern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (including Peshawar). Southern Pashto is spoken to the south of it, in southern and western Afghanistan (including Kandahar), southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern Balochistan (including Quetta). 'Ethnologue' divides Pashto into Northern, Southern and Central Pashto, and Wanetsi.Lewis, M. Paul (ed.), 2009. Language Family Trees. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International.
Overview According to David Neil MacKenzie, a consonant shift took place in the northern parts of Pashtunistan in several phases in the medieval era. During the shift, the retroflex fricative ṣ̌ changed to x̌ or to x , while ẓ̌ changed to ǵ or to g . That is supported by the linguist Georg Morgenstierne's assertion that the Pashto script developed in the Northeast which had the phonology of a Southwestern Pashto in the 16th century. The shift was likely complete before the Pashto book Khayr al-Bayān was written by Bayazid Pir Roshan from Waziristan in 1651. According to Michael M. T. Henderson in Balochistan [Southeast]: the spilt ṣ̌ into š and ẓ̌ into ž may never have occurred in that they were always pronounced as š and ž there or that a split did occur.
Among the other Eastern Iranian languages outside Pashto, the Shughni (Khughni) and Yazgulyami branch of the Pamir languages also seem to have been affected from the ṣ̌ to x consonant shift. E.g. "meat": ɡuṣ̌t in Wakhi and ğwáṣ̌a in Southwestern Pashto, but changes to guxt in Shughni and ğwáxa in Northeastern Pashto.
Classification 1. Southern variety Abdali dialect (or South Western dialect) Kakar dialect (or South Eastern dialect) Shirani dialect Marwat-Bettani dialect Southern Karlani group Khattak dialect Baniswola dialect Dawarwola dialect Masidwola dialect Wazirwola dialect
2. Northern variety Central Ghilji dialect (or North Western dialect) Yusufzai dialect (or North Eastern dialect) Northern Karlani group Taniwola dialect Khosti dialect Zadran dialect Mangal dialect Afridi dialect Khogyani dialect Wardak dialect Miranzai Dialect (Bangash and Orakzai)
3. Waṇetsi Dialect
Standards Regional standards There are several regional standard forms of Pashto which have high prestige, and serve as a means of communication between the various tribal communities in those regions.
Central Pashto
Central Pashto dialects are also referred to as middle.
Central Pashto Speak Mostly The Tribes of Bangash , Wazir , Banusi, Zadran , Mahsud & Dawar.
Southern regional standard Southern Pashto compromises of the South Western and South Eastern dialects.
Southern Western Pashto, also called Kandahari Pashto, is the prestige variety of Pashto in southern and western Afghanistan.
A similar variety known as South Eastern is spoken in the Balochistan province of Pakistan.
Northern regional Northern Pashto compromises of the North Western and North Eastern dialects.
North Eastern Pashto, also called Eastern Pashto, is the prestige variety of Pashto, known as Yusufzai Dialect, it is spoken in central, northern, and eastern parts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan and in northeastern Afghanistan.
North Western Pashto is spoken, in eastern and northeastern Afghanistan, in the central Ghilji or Ghilzai region.
Tareeno
Although this dialect is spoken only by the Spin Tareens and not the Tor Tareens, it is known locally as Tareeno and by Western academics as Wanetsi. It is the most distinct amongst the dialects of Pashto.
Features
Variations have been noted in dialects of Pashto. The differences between the standard varieties of Pashto are primarily phonological, and there are simple conversion rules.Herbert Penzl. "Orthography and Phonemes in Pashto (Afghan)". Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 74, No. 2. (Apr. - Jun., 1954), pp. 74-81. The morphological differences between the standard varieties are very few and unimportant. Two of the key phonemes whose pronunciation vary between the different Pashto dialects are ښ and ږ. The southern dialect of Kandahar is considered to be the most conservative with regards to phonology. It retains the original pronunciation of these two phonemes as voiceless and voiced retroflex sibilants, respectively, and does not merge them into other phonemes unlike the northern dialects.
The dialects spoken by the tribes from the Karlani confederacy of Pashtuns are lexicologically different and very varied. Moreover, the Karlani dialects have a tendency towards a change in the pronunciation of vowels. Depending on the particular dialect, the standard Pashto [a], [ā], [o], [u] may change into [ā], [â/å/o], [ȯ/ȫ/e], [i], respectively. In the Karlani dialects of Waziristan, Bannu, and Tani (southern Khost), which follow the vowel shift to the greatest extent, these four vowels normally change into [ā], [o], [e], [i], respectively.
The nine phonemes represented in the column headings below show key phonetic differences between the dialects. Five of them are consonants written in the Pashto alphabet, and four are vowels written in the Latin script; sounds are transcribed in the IPA:
DialectsSubdialectsLocation ښږڅځژaāouAbdaliSouthern and western Afghanistan, including KandaharKākaṛNorthern BalochistanShiraniShirani and DarazindaMarwat-Beṭani-GanḍāpurLakki Marwat, Jandola, Tank, and Dera Ismail Khan TareenoHaranaiHarnai and SanjawiChoterKhattakGeneralKarak District and eastern KohatTeriNasratiBaniswolaBannu, Mir Ali, Baka Khel, Jani KhelDawarwolaTochi in North WaziristanWazirwolaSouthern (Ahmadzai)From Janimela, South Waziristan to Shuidar Ghar (south of Razmak)MasidwolaSouth Waziristan Northern (Utmanzai)North Waziristan, Khaisora Valley, Razmak, Dossali, Datta Khel, Spin Wam, ShawalTaṇiTani, Gurbuz, and Mandozayi, in southern KhostKhostiCentral and northern KhostDzādroṇThe Zadran Arc in southern Paktia, northeastern Paktika, and southwestern KhostBangash-Orakzai-Turi-Zazi-MangalKurram, eastern Paktia, northeastern Khost, Orakzai, Hangu, and northwestern KohatApridiKambar KhelCentral and southern Khyber and Darra AdamkhelZakha KhelKhogyaniKhogyani, Sherzad, and Pachir aw Agam, in southwestern NangarharWardagChaki Wardak, Saydabad, Jaghatu, and Jilga, in central and southern Maidan WardakCentral Ghilzai Central Ghilji region(Sharana, Qalat, southern Ghazni, etc.)Momand and ShinwariUpper Momand and Shinwari Nangrahar provinceLower Momand (Ghoryakhel)Peshawar, Mohmand DistricyYusapzaiSwatCentral, northern, and eastern Pakhtunkhwa (Dir, Swat, Swabi, Hazara etc.)Mardan Dialects belonging to the , the , the , and the , respectively, are color-coded. is color-coded as pink
Grammar
The grammatical rules are may vary slightly in dialects; with the most divergence in Tarīno. Example: DialectDialect SentenceLiterary PashtoMeaningDivergence Noted Kandaharپلوشه راغلل Palwašá rā́ğləlپلوشه راغله Palwašá rā́ğlaPalwasha came3rd Person Plural Verbal suffix ل [əl] employed instead of 3rd Person Feminine Verbal Suffix ه [a]Nangarharما او تا ښار ته ځو mā aw tā xār tə zúزه او ته ښار ته ځو zə aw tə x̌ār tə dzúMe and you are going to the cityOblique pronouns ما [mā] and تا [tā] used instead of direct pronouns زه [zə] and ته [tə]Dzādzə́iپلوشه زما خور دی Palwašá zmā xor deپلوشه زما خور ده Palwašá zmā xor daPalwasha is my sisterNo differentiation in masculine and feminine "to be" - uses دیGhani Paktyaهلکان راغلو haləkā́n rā́ğluهلکان راغل haləkā́n rā́ğləlThe boys cameThe third person plural verbal suffix "u" used instead of "əl"
Lexemes Special words Dialects can also have special vocabulary: DialectMeaningPashto <small>general</general></small>Borrowingsديګول ḍigwә́lBanisinestجاله / ځاله dzā́la / jā́laNot usedدوګول ḍugwә́lMarwatرېبون rebū́nWaṇetsishirtخت xatکميس kamís
[from Arabic]کليس kə́līsWaṇetsiintellectذهن/عقل zehn/akə́l
[from Arabic]پينۍ pinə́iKakāṛiuniverseټوپن ṭopánجهان jahā́n
[from Persian] Example: ما دې دا خبرې ته کليس نه رسېژ
Compare:
زما دغه خبرې ته ذهن/عقل نه رسېږي
Derivative words These can be classed as deriving from "standard" Pashto DialectDerived FromPashto generalMeaningوېړکی wéṛkayWazirwolaووړکی wóṛkayهلک halə́kboyږغ ʐağKandaharغږ ğaǵsound, voice, callباچخه bāčə́xasome Yusapzaiباچا bāčā́ملکه
malákaqueenيره yáraYusapazaiوېره wérafear
Lexical comparison English gloss Kandahar Quetta HarnaiHallberg, Daniel G. 1992. Pashto, Waneci, Ormuri. Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Pakistan, 4. Lakki Marwat Karak Bannu Miramshah Wana Tani Parachinar Bangash Jamrud Kaga Khogyani Chaki Wardak Sharana Kabul Peshawar Pashto lexeme Pashto Paṣ̌to Pašto Pašto Pašto Pāštȫ Pāšte Pāšte Pāxte Pāxtȯ Pāxtȫ Pāxtȯ Pāx̌tȯ Pax̌to Puxto Puxto پښتو four tsalor tsalor tsalor čalor tsālȫr sāler tsālwer tsāler tsālȯr tsālwȫr tsālȯr tsālȯr tsalor tsalor salor څلور six špaẓ̌ špaž špož špaž špež špež špež špeg špeg špeg špeg špeǵ špaǵ špag špag شپږ woman ṣ̌ədza šədza šədza šəǰa šədzā šəzā šədzā xədzā x̌ədzā xədzā x̌ədzā x̌ədzā x̌ədza xədza xəza ښځه father plār plār pyār plār plår plor plor plor plâr plår plâr plâr plār plār plār پلار many ḍer zyāt ḍer zyāt tsaṭ ḍer zyāt ḍer zyåt pirā zyot rəṭ zyot rəṭ zyot ḍer zyât ḍer zyåt ḍer zyât ḍer zyât ḍer zyāt ḍer zyāt ḍer zyāt ډېر زيات few ləẓ̌ ləž ləž ləž ləž ləški ləški ləg ləg ləg ləg ləǵ ləǵ ləg ləg لږ how tsənga tsənga tsona čərang tsərāng sərāng tsərāng tsərge tsəngā tsərāng tsəngā tsəngā tsənga tsənga singa څنګه who tsok tsok čok čok tsȫk sek tsek tsek tsȯk tsȫk tsȯk tsȯk tsok tsok sok څوک to drink čṣ̌əl čšəl ğwətang čšəl tshi čšəl čšəl tsəxəl tsəxəl tsəxəl tsəxəl čx̌əl čx̌əl tskəl skəl څښل foot pṣ̌a pša špa, ğədəi pša pšā pšā pšā pxā pxā pxā pxā px̌ā px̌a pxa xpa پښه we muẓ̌ muž moš muž muž miž miž mig mu mu mu muǵ muǵ mung mung موږ my zmā zmā mā eğē emā emå emo emo emo emâ emå emâ emâ zmā zəmā zamā زما your stā stā tāğa etā etå eto eto eto etâ etå etâ etâ stā stā stā ستا girl nǰiləi nǰiləi čwara ǰinkəi wȫṛkəi weṛkye weṛkye weṛkye wȯṛkəi wȫṛkye wȯṛkəi wȯṛkəi ǰiləi ǰinəi ǰinē نجلۍ boy halək halək čorá kṛāčay wȫṛkāi weṛkā weṛkāi weṛkāi wȯṛkāi wȫṛkāi wȯṛkāi wȯṛkāi halək halək halək هلک Sun lmar lmar mir nmar merə stərgā myēr ğormə stərgā myerə stərgā merə stərgā merə stərgā lmerə stərgā lmer lmar nmar nwar لمر egg hagəi hagəi hoya angəi wȫyā yeyā yeyā yeyā ȯyā wȫyā ȯyā ȯyā hagəi hagəi, hā hagē, hā هګۍ yes/no wo/ya wo/na wo/na ya/na wȫ ē/nā ē/nā yē/nā wȯ/nā ē/nā wȯ/nā wȯ/nā wo/na wo/na ao/na هو\نه home kor kor kor kor kȫr kēr ker ker kȯr kȫlə kȯr kȯr kor kor kor کور I am yəm yəm ī yəm yəm yə yə yə yəm yəm yəm yəm yəm yəm yəm یم I go dzəm dzəm dramī ǰəm tsəm sə tsə tsə tsəm tsəm tsəm tsəm dzəm dzəm zəm ځم tongue žəba zəba zbə zəba žəbā žəbā žəbā žəbā žəbā ǰəbā žəbā zəbā zəba žəba ǰəba ژبه it exists sta sta sta sta štā štā štā štā štā štā štā štā sta šta šta شته bear yiẓ̌ yiž yiržá yiž yiž yiž yiž yig yig yig yig yiǵ yiǵ yig yig ايږ ant meẓ̌ay mežay merža mežay mežāi mežāi mežāi megāi megāi megāi megāi məǵātāi meǵay megay megē مېږی English gloss Kandahar Quetta Harnai Lakki Marwat Karak Bannu Wana Tani Parachinar Jamrud Kaga Chaki Wardak Sharana Kabul Peshawar Pashto lexeme
In general, the Karlani dialects, both in southern and northern varieties, show more vocabulary differences than the non-Karlani southern and northern dialects.
See also Pashto Swadesh list Eastern Iranian languages Proto-Indo-European language Indo-Iranian languages
References
de:Paschtunische Sprache#Dialekte pt:Língua pastó#Dialetos