Pashto
Pashto (/ˈpʌʃtoʊ/ PUH-shto,/ˈpæʃtoʊ/ PASH-toe; پښتو, Pəx̌tó, [pəʂˈto, pʊxˈto, pəʃˈto, pəçˈto]) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan, southern and eastern Afghanistan, and some isolated pockets of far eastern Iran near the Afghan border. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (افغانی, Afghāni).
| Pashto | |
|---|---|
| پښتو Pax̌tó | |
The word Pax̌tó written in the Pashto alphabet | |
| Pronunciation | [[Help:IPA/Pashto|[pəʂˈto], [pʊxˈto], [pəçˈto], [pəʃˈto]]] |
| Native to | Afghanistan, Pakistan |
| Ethnicity | Pashtuns |
| Speakers | L1: 54 million (2017–2021) L2: 4.8 million (2017–2021) |
Standard forms | |
| Dialects | Pashto dialects |
| Pashto alphabet | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Pakistan Afghanistan |
Recognised minority language in | |
| Regulated by | Pashto Academy Quetta |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | ps – Pashto, Pushto |
| ISO 639-2 | pus – Pushto, Pashto |
| ISO 639-3 | pus – inclusive code – Pashto, PushtoIndividual codes: pst – Central Pashtopbu – Northern Pashtopbt – Southern Pashtowne – Wanetsi |
| Glottolog | pash1269 Pashto |
| Linguasphere | 58-ABD-a |
Areas in Afghanistan and Pakistan where Pashto is: the predominant language spoken alongside other languages | |
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages of Afghanistan alongside Dari, and it is the second-largest provincial language of Pakistan, spoken mainly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the northern districts of Balochistan. Likewise, it is the primary language of the Pashtun diaspora around the world. The total number of Pashto-speakers is at least 40 million, although some estimates place it as high as 60 million. Pashto is "one of the primary markers of ethnic identity" amongst Pashtuns.