Northern Pashto

Northern Pashto
Native toAfghanistan
RegionKhyber Pakhtunkhwa
EthnicityPashtun
SpeakersL1: 23 million (2017)[1]
L2: 1.4 million (2022)[1]
Pashto alphabet
Official status
Regulated byPashto Academy of Pakistan[2]
Language codes
ISO 639-3pbu
Glottolognort2646

Northern Pashto (Pashto: شمالي پښتو) is a standard variety of the Pashto language spoken in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, comprising the Northwestern and Northeastern dialects of Pashto.[3]

North Eastern

Northeastern Pashto,[4] is spoken primarily in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.

Yusapzai

Yusufzai/Yusapzai Pashto is the most-spoken subdialect[5] in the Northeastern Dialect.

Comparison:

Dialects[6] ښ ږ څ ځ ژ
North Eastern (e.g. Yusapzai) [x] [ɡ] [s] [z] [d͡ʒ]
North Western (e.g Jalalabad) [x] [ɡ] [s] [z] [ʒ]
North Western (e.g. Wardak) [ç] [ʝ] [t͡s] [d͡z] [ʒ, z]

Lexical Variation

Even within the Yusapzai dialect; regional lexical variation is noted; as pointed out by Dr. Muhammad Ali Kaleem:[7]

Meaning Mardan Swat
Ring ګتمه

gʊ́tma

ګوتۍ

gwə́təi or Guta

Spinach ساګ

sāg

سابه

sābə́

Cup پيالۍ

pyālə́i

پياله

pyālá

Puppy کوتری

kutré or Spey

کوکری

kukré

Sub-regional lexical variation

Even with regions there can be minor differences in pronunciation. Example:

Malakand District

[some localities]

Malakand District

[general]

Standard Pashto Meaning
فپه

fpa

ښپه

xpa

پښه

px̌a,

pxa,

pša,

pṣ̌a

foot

North Western

The North Western is spoken in the east and northeast Afghanistan.[8]

Phonological Variation

There is regional difference in North Western Pashto in pronunciation of words:[9]

Meaning Wardak Jalalabad Bati Kot
دوی they deɪ ˈduwi ˈduwi
راکړه give [imperative of راکول] ˈrɑka ˈrɑka ˈrɑkɽa
پوهېدل to know [infinitive] pijeˈdəl pojeˈdəl pojidəl
شپږ six ʃpaʝ ʃpag ʃpiʒ
وريځ cloud wərˈjed͡z wrez wəˈred͡z
ښځه woman ˈçəd͡za ˈxəza
اوبه water oˈbə uˈbə oˈbə

References

  1. ^ a b Northern Pashto at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024) Closed access icon
  2. ^ Sebeok, Thomas Albert (1976). Current Trends in Linguistics: Index. Walter de Gruyter. p. 705.
  3. ^ "Glottolog 4.3 - Northern Pashto". glottolog.org. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
  4. ^ Prods Oktor Skjærvø, P.O. 1989. Pashto. In "Compendium Linguarum Iranicarum", R. Schmitt (ed.), 384-410.
  5. ^ "Redirected". 19 November 2019.
  6. ^ Hallberg, Daniel G. 1992. Pashto, Waneci, Ormuri. Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Pakistan, 4.
  7. ^ Kaleem, Muhammad (2015). "Lexical Variation in Pashto: A Comparative Study Conducted in Mardan and Swat , in Pashto" (PDF). Pashto. 44 (650): 21–52. Archived from the original on February 7, 2021.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. ^ Anna B. David (2014). A Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and its Dialects. De Gruyter Mouton. p. 36. ISBN 978-1-61451-303-2.
  9. ^ Coyle, Dennis Walter (2014). Placing Wardak Among Pashto Varieties (Master's thesis). University of North Dakota.


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