Northern Pashto

Northern Pashto () is a standard variety of the Pashto language spoken in the northern and central parts of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and central-eastern Afghanistan, comprising the Northwestern and Northeastern dialects of Pashto.

North Eastern Northeastern PashtoProds Oktor Skjærvø, P.O. 1989. Pashto. In "Compendium Linguarum Iranicarum", R. Schmitt (ed.), 384-410. is spoken primarily in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.

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

Comparison: DialectsHallberg, Daniel G. 1992. Pashto, Waneci, Ormuri. Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Pakistan, 4.ښږڅځژNorth 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: MeaningMardanSwatRingګوتۍ gwə́təi or GutaSpinachساګ sāgسابه sābə́Cupپيالۍ pyālə́iپياله pyāláPuppyکوتری kutré or Speyکوکری kukré

Sub-regional lexical variation Even with regions there can be minor differences in pronunciation. Example: Malakand District [some localities]Malakand District [general]Standard PashtoMeaningفپه fpaښپه xpaپښه px̌a,

pxa,

pša,

pṣ̌afoot

North Western

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

Phonological Variation There is regional difference in North Western Pashto in pronunciation of words: MeaningWardakJalalabadBati KotMaidaniدویtheydeɪˈduwiˈduwiˈduwiراکړهgive [imperative of راکول]ˈrɑkaˈrɑkaˈrɑkɽa'rawkaپوهېدلto know [infinitive]pijeˈdəlpojeˈdəlpojidəlpigeˈdəlشپږsixʃpaʝʃpagʃpiʒʃpagوريځcloudwərˈjed͡zwrezwəˈred͡zwrez ښځهwomanˈçəd͡zaاوبهwateroˈbəuˈbəoˈbəoˈbə

References