PRS ISO 639-3
Dari
فارسی (Farsi) Autonym
A language of Afghanistan
- ISO 639
- prs
- Alternate Names
- Afghan Persian, Eastern Farsi, Parsi, Persian
- Autonym
- فارسی (Farsi)
- Population
- 28,660,000 in Afghanistan, all users. L1 users: 8,660,000 in Afghanistan (2017 J. Leclerc), increasing. L2 users: 20,000,000 (2020). Total users in all countries: 29,452,210 (as L1: 9,452,210; as L2: 20,000,000).
- Location:
- Widespread.
- Language Status
- 1 (National). Statutory national language (2004, Constitution, Article 16(1)).
- Classification
- Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Southwestern, Persian
- Dialects
- Tangshew (Tangshuri), Darwazi. Mutually intelligible with Iranian Persian [pes] and Tajiki [tgk]. Radio Afghanistan broadcasts promote a standardized pronunciation of the literary language based on the old dictional tradition of the country, with archaic phonetic characteristics. Phonological and lexical differences between Iran and Afghanistan cause little difficulty in comprehension. Most Afghan dialects are reportedly more similar to literary Persian than Iranian dialects are. Lexical similarity: 86%–90% among Dari dialects. A member of macrolanguage Persian [fas].
- Typology
- SOV; no articles; verb affixes mark person, number; tense and aspect; causatives; 23 consonants, 7 vowels, 2 diphthongs.
- Language Use
- All domains. Used by all. Positive attitudes.
- Language Development
- Literacy rate in L1: 28%. Taught in primary and secondary schools. Literature. Newspapers. Periodicals. Radio. TV. Videos. Dictionary. Grammar. Texts. Bible: 2008.
- Language Resources
- OLAC resources in and about Dari
- 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 Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Australia
Language Name
Dari
User Population
30,400 in Australia (2016 census).
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Belgium
Language Name
Dari
User Population
6,510 in Belgium (2020 census). , based on nationality.
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Germany
Language Name
Dari
User Population
68,000 in Germany (2020 census). , based on nationality.
- Location
- South Khorasan province.
- Language Status
- 5 (Dispersed)
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Iran
Language Name
Dari
User Population
391,000 in Iran (2019).
- Location
- Khyber Pakhtunkwa province: southeast Chitral, Shishi Koh valley, Madaglasht village; Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, and other large cities.
- Language Status
- 5 (Dispersed)
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. Madaglasht community in Chitral came from Badakhshan, Afghanistan 200 years ago. Other communities in Pakistan are primarily refugees or settlers from Afghanistan. Muslim. View other languages of Pakistan
Language Name
Dari
User Population
284,000 in Pakistan (2018).
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Sweden
Language Name
Dari
User Population
12,300 in Sweden (2020 census). , based on nationality.
Map
Location: Widespread.
Size and Vitality
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