The
main literature language of Afghanistan and an important tongue in Pakistan,
Pashto is spoken by 25 million people, and is divided into plenty of dialects,
of which southern, western and northern groups are the widest. Pashto is
closely related to Pamir languages, with one significant
phonetic feature: the retroflexive consonants t., d., n., r.
are widespread.
Pashto grammar shows wide usage of inflections, which can be either suffixed or interfixed (suffix inside the word), in verb conjugation and nominal declension. The verb has the branched system of aspect category. The ergative construction with object declination is of great importance in the language.
Pashto is developing in Afghanistan together with Dari, which has a richer literature tradition. Earlier Pashto was not used in official documents and in social and political life, but nowadays the sphere of its use is widened all the time. Active efforts are made to normalize the language and to create the single norm of literature tongue. Pashto is using Arab alphabet with special signs for retroflexive consonants, affricates c, dj, and some diphthongs.
