Pashto dialects (Pushto; Pashto: د پښتو ژبګوټي 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.[1]
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 pronounced as /[ʂ]/ changed to x̌ pronounced as /[ç]/ or to x pronounced as /[x]/, while ẓ̌ pronounced as /[ʐ]/ changed to ǵ pronounced as /[ʝ]/ or to g pronounced as /[g]/.[2] 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.[3] 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 pronounced as /[ʂ]/ into š pronounced as /[ʃ]/ and ẓ̌ pronounced as /[ʐ]/ into ž pronounced as /[ʒ]/ may never have occurred in that they were always pronounced as š pronounced as /[ʃ]/ and ž pronounced as /[ʒ]/ there or that a split did occur.[4]
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 Northerneastern Pashto.[5]
1. Southern variety
2. Northern variety
3. Waṇetsi Dialect
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 dialects are also referred to as middle dialects.[6]
Southern Pashto compromises of the South Western and South Eastern dialects.[7]
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.[8]
Northern Pashto compromises of the North Western and North Eastern dialects.[9]
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.
See main article: Wanetsi. 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.
See also: Pashto phonology. Variations have been noted in dialects of Pashto.[10] The differences between the standard varieties of Pashto are primarily phonological, and there are simple conversion rules.[11] 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.[12]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.[13] 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:
| Dialects | Location | ښ | ږ | څ | ځ | ژ | a | ā | o | u | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subdialects | |||||||||||
| Abdali | Southern and western Afghanistan, including Kandahar | pronounced as /[ʂ]/ | pronounced as /[ʐ]/ | pronounced as /[t͡s]/ | pronounced as /[d͡z]/ | pronounced as /[ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[a]/ | pronounced as /[ɑ]/ | pronounced as /[o]/ | pronounced as /[u]/ | |
| Kākaṛ | Northern Balochistan | pronounced as /[ʃ]/ | pronounced as /[ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[t͡s]/ | pronounced as /[d͡z]/ | pronounced as /[ʒ, z]/ | pronounced as /[a]/ | pronounced as /[ɑ]/ | pronounced as /[o]/ | pronounced as /[u]/ | |
| Shirani | Shirani and Darazinda | pronounced as /[ʃ]/ | pronounced as /[ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[t͡s, s]/ | pronounced as /[d͡z, z]/ | pronounced as /[z]/ | pronounced as /[a]/ | pronounced as /[ɑ]/ | pronounced as /[o]/ | pronounced as /[u]/ | |
| Marwat-Beṭani-Ganḍāpur[14] | Lakki Marwat, Jandola, Tank, and Dera Ismail Khan | pronounced as /[ʃ]/ | pronounced as /[ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[t͡ʃ]/ | pronounced as /[d͡ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[z]/ | pronounced as /[a]/ | pronounced as /[ɑ]/ | pronounced as /[o]/ | pronounced as /[u]/ | |
| Tareeno[15] | Haranai | Harnai and Sanjawi | pronounced as /[ʃ]/ | pronounced as /[ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[t͡s, s, t͡ʃ]/ | pronounced as /[d͡z, z, d͡ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[z]/ | pronounced as /[a]/ | pronounced as /[ɑ]/ | pronounced as /[o]/ | pronounced as /[u]/ |
| Choter | |||||||||||
| Khattak | General | Karak District and eastern Kohat | pronounced as /[ʃ]/ | pronounced as /[ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[t͡s, s]/ | pronounced as /[d͡z, z]/ | pronounced as /[ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[ɑ]/ | pronounced as /[ɔ]/ | pronounced as /[o]/ | pronounced as /[u]/ |
| Teri | |||||||||||
| Nasrati | |||||||||||
| Baniswola | Bannu, Mir Ali, Baka Khel, Jani Khel | pronounced as /[ʃ]/ | pronounced as /[ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[s]/ | pronounced as /[z]/ | pronounced as /[ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[ɑ]/ | pronounced as /[ɔ]/ | pronounced as /[ɛː]/ | pronounced as /[i]/ | |
| Dawarwola | Tochi in North Waziristan | pronounced as /[ʃ]/ | pronounced as /[ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[t͡s, s]/ | pronounced as /[d͡z, z]/ | pronounced as /[ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[ɑ]/ | pronounced as /[o]/ | pronounced as /[e]/ | pronounced as /[i]/ | |
| Wazirwola | Southern [16] (Ahmadzai) | From Janimela, South Waziristan to Shuidar Ghar (south of Razmak) | pronounced as /[ʃ]/ | pronounced as /[ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[t͡ʃ]/ | pronounced as /[d͡ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[ɑ]/ | pronounced as /[ɒ]/ | pronounced as /[œː, ɛː]/ | pronounced as /[i]/ |
| Masidwola | pronounced as /[ʃ]/ | pronounced as /[ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[t͡ʃ]/ | pronounced as /[d͡ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[ɑ]/ | pronounced as /[ɒ]/ | pronounced as /[œː, ɛː]/ | pronounced as /[i]/ | ||
| Northern (Utmanzai) | North Waziristan, Khaisora Valley, Razmak, Dossali, Datta Khel, Spin Wam, Shawal[17] | pronounced as /[ʃ]/ | pronounced as /[ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[t͡s, s]/ | pronounced as /[d͡z, z]/ | pronounced as /[ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[ɑ]/ | pronounced as /[ɔ]/ | pronounced as /[œː, ɛː]/ | pronounced as /[i]/ | |
| Taṇi | Tani, Gurbuz, and Mandozayi, in southern Khost | pronounced as /[x]/ | pronounced as /[ɡ]/ | pronounced as /[t͡s, s]/ | pronounced as /[d͡z, z]/ | pronounced as /[ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[ɑ]/ | pronounced as /[o]/ | pronounced as /[e]/ | pronounced as /[i]/ | |
| Khosti | Central and northern Khost | pronounced as /[x]/ | pronounced as /[ɡ]/ | pronounced as /[t͡s, s]/ | pronounced as /[d͡z, z]/ | pronounced as /[ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[ɑ]/ | pronounced as /[ɒ]/ | pronounced as /[ɵ]/ | pronounced as /[u]/ | |
| Dzādroṇ[18] | The Zadran Arc in southern Paktia, northeastern Paktika, and southwestern Khost | pronounced as /[ç]/ | pronounced as /[ʝ]/ | pronounced as /[t͡s]/ | pronounced as /[d͡z]/ | pronounced as /[ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[ɑ]/ | pronounced as /[o]/ | pronounced as /[o, e]/ | pronounced as /[u, i]/ | |
| Bangash-Orakzai-Turi-Zazi-Mangal | Kurram, eastern Paktia, northeastern Khost, Orakzai, Hangu, and northwestern Kohat | pronounced as /[x]/ | pronounced as /[ɡ]/ | pronounced as /[t͡s, s]/ | pronounced as /[d͡z, z]/ | pronounced as /[ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[ɑ]/ | pronounced as /[ɔ]/ | pronounced as /[o]/ | pronounced as /[u]/ | |
| Apridi[19] [20] | Kambar Khel | Central and southern Khyber and Darra Adamkhel | pronounced as /[x]/ | pronounced as /[ɡ]/ | pronounced as /[t͡s, s]/ | pronounced as /[d͡z, z]/ | pronounced as /[ʒ, d͡ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[ɑ]/ | pronounced as /[ɔ]/ | pronounced as /[ɵ]/ | pronounced as /[u, i]/ |
| Zakha Khel | |||||||||||
| Khogyani | Khogyani, Sherzad, and Pachir aw Agam, in southwestern Nangarhar | pronounced as /[x]/ | pronounced as /[ɡ]/ | pronounced as /[t͡s, s]/ | pronounced as /[d͡z, z]/ | pronounced as /[ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[ɑ]/ | pronounced as /[ɒ]/ | pronounced as /[ɵ]/ | pronounced as /[u]/ | |
| Wardag | Chaki Wardak, Saydabad, Jaghatu, and Jilga, in central and southern Maidan Wardak | pronounced as /[ç]/ | pronounced as /[ʝ]/ | pronounced as /[t͡s]/ | pronounced as /[d͡z]/ | pronounced as /[ʒ, z]/ | pronounced as /[ɑ]/ | pronounced as /[ɒ]/ | pronounced as /[o]/ | pronounced as /[u]/ | |
| Central Ghilji region (Sharana, Qalat, southern Ghazni, etc.) | pronounced as /[ç]/ | pronounced as /[ʝ]/ | pronounced as /[t͡s, s]/ | pronounced as /[d͡z, z]/ | pronounced as /[ʒ, z]/ | pronounced as /[a]/ | pronounced as /[ɑ]/ | pronounced as /[o]/ | pronounced as /[u]/ | ||
| Momand and Shinwari | Upper Momand and Shinwari | Nangrahar province | pronounced as /[x]/ | pronounced as /[ɡ]/ | pronounced as /[t͡s, s]/ | pronounced as /[d͡z, z]/ | pronounced as /[ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[a]/ | pronounced as /[ɑ]/ | pronounced as /[o]/ | pronounced as /[u]/ |
| Lower Momand(Ghoryakhel) | Peshawar, Mohmand Districy | pronounced as /[x]/ | pronounced as /[ɡ]/ | pronounced as /[s]/ | pronounced as /[z]/ | pronounced as /[d͡ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[a]/ | pronounced as /[ɑ]/ | pronounced as /[o]/ | pronounced as /[u]/ | |
| Yusapzai | Swat | Central, northern, and eastern Pakhtunkhwa (Dir, Swat, Swabi, Hazara etc.) | pronounced as /[x]/ | pronounced as /[ɡ]/ | pronounced as /[s]/ | pronounced as /[z]/ | pronounced as /[d͡ʒ]/ | pronounced as /[a]/ | pronounced as /[ɑ]/ | pronounced as /[o]/ | pronounced as /[u]/ |
| Mardan | |||||||||||
See main article: Pashto grammar. The grammatical rules are may vary slightly in dialects; with the most divergence in Tarīno. Example:[21]
| Dialect | Dialect Sentence | Literary Pashto | Meaning | Divergence Noted | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kandahar | پلوشه راغللPalwašá rā́ğləl | پلوشه راغلهPalwašá rā́ğla | Palwasha came | 3rd Person Plural Verbal suffix ل [əl] employed instead of 3rd Person Feminine Verbal Suffix ه [a] | |
| Nangarhar | ما او تا ښار ته ځوmā aw tā xār tə zú | زه او ته ښار ته ځوzə aw tə x̌ār tə dzú | Me and you are going to the city | Oblique pronouns ما [mā] and تا [tā] used instead of direct pronouns زه [zə] and ته [tə] | |
| Dzādzə́i | پلوشه زما خور دیPalwašá zmā xor de | پلوشه زما خور دهPalwašá zmā xor da | Palwasha is my sister | No differentiation in masculine and feminine "to be" - uses دی | |
| Ghani Paktya | هلکان راغلوhaləkā́n rā́ğlu | هلکان راغلhaləkā́n rā́ğləl | The boys came | The third person plural verbal suffix "u" used instead of "əl" |
Dialects can also have special vocabulary[22] :
| Dialect | Meaning | Pashto general | Borrowings | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ديګولḍigwә́l | Banisi | nest | جاله / ځالهdzā́la / jā́la | Not used | |
| دوګولḍugwә́l | Marwat | ||||
| رېبون[23] rebū́n | Waṇetsi | shirt | خت xat | کميسkamís [from ''Arabic] | |
| کليس[24] kə́līs | Waṇetsi | intellect | ذهن/عقلzehn/akə́l [from ''Arabic] | ||
| پينۍ[25] pinə́i | Kakāṛi | universe | ټوپنṭopán | جهانjahā́n [from ''Persian] |
زما دغه خبرې ته ذهن/عقل نه رسېږي
These can be classed as deriving from "standard" Pashto
| Dialect | Derived From | Pashto general | Meaning | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| وېړکیwéṛkay | Wazirwola | ووړکیwóṛkay | هلکhalə́k | boy | |
| ږغʐağ | Kandahar | align=center colspan="2" | غږğaǵ | sound, voice, call | |
| باچخه[26] bāčə́xa | some Yusapzai | باچاbāčā́ | ملکه maláka | queen | |
| يرهyára | Yusapazai | align=center colspan="2" | وېرهwéra | fear |
| English gloss | Harnai[27] | 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 | šəza | šəǰa | šəzā | šəzā | šəzā | xəzā | x̌əzā | xəzā | x̌əzā | x̌ədzā | x̌ədza | xəza | 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 | zəm | 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.