Page Type: languagePashto, Southern | Ethnologue

PBT ISO 639-3

Pashto, Southern

پښتو‎‎ (Pax̌tō) Autonym

A language of Afghanistan

ISO 639
pbt
Alternate Names
Kandahari Pashto, Qandahari Pashto, Southwestern Pashto
Autonym
پښتو‎‎ (Pax̌tō)
Population
13,300,000 in Afghanistan, all users. L1 users: 10,500,000 in Afghanistan (2017). L2 users: 2,800,000 (2020). Total users in all countries: 19,712,400 (as L1: 16,912,400; as L2: 2,800,000).
Location:
Badghis, Farah, Helmand, Herat, Kandahar, Nimroz, Uruzgan, and Zabul provinces.
Language Status
1 (National). Statutory national language (2004, Constitution, Article 16(1)).
Classification
Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Eastern, Southeastern, Pashto
Dialects
Durani. Lexical similarity: 80% between northern and southern varieties of Pashto. A member of macrolanguage Pushto [pus].
Typology
SOV; noun head final; gender (masculine/feminine); no articles; case-marking (3 cases); verb affixes mark person, number, gender of subject; passives; tense and aspect; causatives.
Language Use
Afghan government has worked since 1930s to standardize and publicize it. All domains. Used by all. Positive attitudes. Some also use Dari [prs], especially those who are educated or have business in Dari-speaking provinces. A few also use Urdu [urd].
Language Development
Pashto is one of two national languages taught in schools. Low literacy rate, especially in non-urban locations and among women. Taught in primary and secondary schools. Literature. Newspapers. Periodicals. Radio. TV. Videos. Dictionary. Grammar. Texts. Bible portions: 2011–2019.
Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Pashto, Southern
Writing
Arabic script, Naskh variant [Arab], used in print. Arabic script, Nastaliq variant [Aran], used in handwriting and for book titles.
Other Comments
Muslim.

Also Spoken in

Language Name
Pashto, Southern
User Population
154,000 in United Arab Emirates (2020).
Language Status
Unestablished
Other Comments
Non-indigenous. Came from Afghanistan. Muslim.
View other languages of United Arab Emirates
Language Name
Pashto, Southern
User Population
10,300 in Belgium (2020 census). , based on nationality.
Language Status
Unestablished
Other Comments
Non-indigenous.
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Language Name
Pashto, Southern
User Population
81,500 in Germany (2020 census). , based on nationality.
Language Status
Unestablished
Other Comments
Non-indigenous.
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Language Name
Pashto, Southern
User Population
40,300 in United Kingdom (2011 census).
Language Status
Unestablished
Other Comments
Non-indigenous.
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Language Name
Pashto, Southern
User Population
113,000 in Iran (1993). Population does not include refugees.
Location
Razavi Khorasan and South Khorasan provinces: Afghanistan border east of Qa’en.
Language Status
5 (Dispersed)
Other Comments
Different from Northern Pashto [pbu] of Pakistan and India. Muslim.
View other languages of Iran
Language Name
Pashto, Southern
User Population
5,960,000 in Pakistan (2017 census).
Location
Balochistan province: Loralai, Mastung, Quetta, Pishin, Sibi, and Ziarat districts, and adjacent areas; Khyber Pakhtunkwa province: Dera Ismail Khan district; Punjab province: Dera Ghazi Khan district.
Dialects
Southeastern Pashto, Quetta Pashto.
Language Status
5 (Dispersed)
Other Comments
Muslim.
View other languages of Pakistan
Language Name
Pashto, Southern
User Population
19,400 in Sweden (2020 census). , based on nationality.
Language Status
Unestablished
Other Comments
Non-indigenous.
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Language Name
Pashto, Southern
User Population
32,400 in Tajikistan (2017).
Location
Khatlon region.
Language Status
5 (Dispersed)
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Language Name
Pashto, Southern
User Population
1,500 in Turkmenistan (Leclerc 2019b). , based on ethnicity.
Language Status
Unestablished
Other Comments
Non-indigenous.
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Map

Location: Badghis, Farah, Helmand, Herat, Kandahar, Nimroz, Uruzgan, and Zabul provinces.