Pashto
| Pashto | |
|---|---|
| پښتو Pax̌tó | |
The word Pax̌tó written in the Pashto alphabet | |
| Pronunciation | [pəʂˈto], [pʊxˈto], [pəçˈto], [pəʃˈto] |
| Native to | Afghanistan Pakistan |
| Ethnicity | Pashtuns |
| Speakers | L1: 51 million (2017–2023) L2: 4.9 million (2022) |
Standard forms | |
| Dialects | Pashto dialects |
| Pashto alphabet | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Afghanistan |
| Regulated by | |
| 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 Pashto |
| Glottolog | pash1269 Pashto |
| Linguasphere | 58-ABD-a |
Areas in Afghanistan and Pakistan where Pashto is: the predominant language spoken alongside other languages | |
Pashto (/ˈpʌʃtoʊ/,/ˈpæʃtoʊ/ PASH-toh; پښتو, Pəx̌tó, [pəʂˈto, pʊxˈto, pəʃˈto, pəçˈto]) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan. It was also known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (افغانی, Afghāni).
Spoken as a native language mainly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages of Afghanistan alongside Dari, and the second-largest language in 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 estimated at around 35 million to 55 million. Pashto is "one of the primary markers of ethnic identity" amongst Pashtuns.