v Pashto language of AFGHANISTAN:
Ø INTRODUCTION TO PASHTO:
Pashto also denoted Pashtu, also called Pashtu or Pakhtu, member of the
Iranian division of the Indo-Iranian group of Indo-European languages. Massive adoption
has caused Pashto to share many features of the Indo-Aryan group of the
Indo-European languages as well. Originally spoken by the Pashtun people, Pashto
became the national language of Afghanistan in 1936. It is spoken by more
than 35 million people, most of whom reside in Afghanistan or Pakistan. Tinier
speech communities exist in Iran, Tajikistan, the United Arab Emirates, and the
United Kingdom.
Ø Origins and lexicon:
Scholars have discovered it difficult to reach consensus regarding
specific claims about Pashto’s origins. However, it is clear that the speech
community’s location in a contested part of the ancient world originated
extensive contact with, and borrowing from, other languages, including
varieties of ancient Greek, Saka, Parthian, and Persian. Pashto also united
with the northwestern Indian languages, especially the Prakrits, Balochi, and
Sindhi. From these languages, Pashto acquired retroflex sounds (sounds produced
with the tip of the tongue curled against the roof of the mouth) and
approximately 5,550 loanwords.
Ø Dialects and Pronunciation of Words of
Pashto language:
The dialects of Pashto fall into 2 main divisions: the southern, which
preserves the ancient /sh/ and /zh/ sounds, and the northern, which uses
/kh/ and /gh/ sounds instead. Aspirates sounds accompanied by an audible breath
are common to most of Pashto’s neighboring Indo-Aryan languages but are
uncommon in Pashto. The slight changes that denote loanwords from the Prakrit’s,
Sindhi, and Balochi are generally quite easy to identify. For instance, gadi ‘a
cart’ in Sindhi is portrayed as gari in Hindi and gardai in Pashto. Likewise,
the term for ‘male buffalo’ is depicted sand in Hindi and sanr in Pashto. A number of
words are identical in Hindi, Sindhi, and Pashto, including sadak ‘road,’ peda
‘a sweet,’ and khirki ‘window.’
The Pashto language has also borrowed words from Tajik (a form of
Persian) and Uzbek (a Turkic language); examples include ruai-jirge ‘a common
platform’ and ilghar ‘attack.’ A number of Arabic words or their Persianized
forms have also been absorbed into Pashto, as have several Persian verbs. The
sound /n/ of Persian is replaced by /l/ in Pashto.
Ø Grammar and literature:
The sentence construction of Pashto is alike to that of Hindi. Unlike
Persian, but as in the Prakrit’s, the Pashto noun comes after the adjective and
the holder leads the possessed in the genitive construction. The verb generally
agrees with the subject in both transitive and intransitive sentences. An
exception occurs when a completed action is reported in the past tense. In such
cases, Pashto forms are the same as Hindi forms: the verb agrees with the
subject if it is intransitive and with the object if it is transitive.
Pashto is written with a modified Arabic alphabet. The earliest literary
form is poetry; Mohammad Hotak’s Pata Khazana (1728–29; “The Hidden Treasure”)
is a collection of Pashto poetry from the 8th century onward. The national poet
of Afghanistan, Khushhal Khan Khatak (1613–94), wrote spontaneous and forceful
poetry of great charm. His grandson Afzal Khan was the author of an early
history of the Pashtun.
Ø Script
The earliest authenticated records of Pashto as a literary language date
from the late sixteenth century, at a time when the whole area was part of the
Mogul empire. The language has always been written in the Perso-Arabic script
with the addition of certain modified letters to represent the peculiar
consonant phonemes of Pashto. In the earliest manuscripts there is a
considerable variety in the representation of three consonants, but later a
standard system emerged. Since the adoption of Pashto as a national language in
Afghanistan, a number of innovations have been introduced into the script which
have aided clarity.
The Pashto
language has a total of 46 letters that are written in the Naskh script. These
letters have been modified from the Arabic alphabet by including some extra
letters to arrive at sounds that are Pashto-specific.
v HISTORY OF PASHTO LANGUAGE:
It is assumed that the Pashto language is about 2500 years old. Still, precisely
how many people speak Pashto is not certain. There are different estimates that
range from 26 million to 40 million. 31% - 51% of the Afghan population speaks
Pashto as their first language whereas 10% -27% of them speak Pashto as their
second language. According to article 20 of the
Constitution of Afghanistan, according to it the Afghan National Anthem would
be in Pashto and Pashto would be preserved as the 1st state language of
Afghanistan. The Pashto language today represents the country’s culture and
social heritage and is widely used in education, literature, media, religious
institutions, etc.
Ø Pashto In Pakistan:
In Pakistan the Pashtun outweigh north of Quetta between
the Suleiman Range and the Indus River. In the mountain areas the
main tribes are, from south to north, the Kākaṛ, Sherani, and Ustarana south of
the Gumal River; the Maḥsud, Darwesh Khel, Waziri, and Biṭani between the
Gumal River and Thal; the Turi, Bangash, Orakzay, Afridi, and ShinwarI
from Thal to the Khyber Pass; and the Mahmand, Uthman Khel, Tark Lani, and
Yusufzai north and northeast of the Khyber Pass. The cities
of Kandahar, Jalalabad, and Lashkar Gah in Afghanistan
and Peshawar and Quetta in Pakistan are important centers of
Pashtun culture.
Ø LITERATURE IN PASHTO:
The history of Pashto literature stretches over 5000 years having its
roots in the oral tradition of tapa. Though, the first recorded period begins
with Bayazid Ansari (1526-74), who established his own Sufi school of
thoughts and began to preach his beliefs. He gave Pashto writing style and
poetry a new and powerful tone with a rich literary legacy. Khair-ul-Bayan,
often quoted and intensely criticized thesis, is most probably the first book
on Sufism in Pashto literature. Among his believers are some of the most
distinguished poets, writers, scholars and Sufis, like Arzani, Mukhlis,
Mirza Khan Ansari, Daulat and Wasil, whose poetic works are well protected.
Akhund Darweza (1533- 1615), a popular religious leader and
scholar gave a powerful counterblast to Bayezid’s movement in the shape of Makhzanul
Islam. He and his followers have enriched the Pashto language and
literature by writing several books of writing style.
Khushal Khan Khattak (1613-89), also known as a father of
Pashto, is the central figure of this period. He presented new forms and modern
trends in Pashto literature. The Persian ghazal, rubai and masnavi influenced
the Pashto poets and writers of this period. The Sufism of Hafiz Shirazi found
an echo in Rahman Baba’s works. Likewise, Abdul Qadir Khattak, Ashraf Khan
Hijri, Kazim Khan Shaida, Ma`azullah Khan, Ahmad Shah Abdali and many
others have left valuable treasure of literature in Pashto. This period was overshadowed
by poetry, but writing style also held an important place. Romantic stories and
versified fiction gained popularity towards the end of this period and
continued with some modifications throughout the second period and even into
the third which reached in the evolution of Pashto literature ended with the
death of great warrior-king and poet, Ahmad Shah Abdali.
This period begins with the dawn of the twentieth century. The Khilafat
and Hijrat Movements gave rise to a type of poetry that called out to soldiers
of freedom. This generation of Amir Hamza Khan Shinwari and Dost Mohammed
of young poets developed the poetry of the period with new idealism. Abdul
Akbar Khan Akbar, Ghani Khan, Khadim Mohammad Akbar, Khaliq, Samandar Khan,
Rahat Zakheli, Khan Mir Hilali, Makhfi, Sanober Hussain Kakajee, Khan Kamil
played an important role in raising the cause of Pashtun’s revivalism.
The twentieth century proved very fertile, rich and flourishing for
Pashto literature because it gave new genres and literary forms like Drama,
Short Story, Novel, Takl, Character-Sketch, Travelogue, Reportage, Satire, Azad
Nazam and Haiku.
Ø First Organization, Academy, Book &
Dictionaries of Pashto:
A large number of literary organizations also took birth in this century.
Olasi Adabi Jirga that is considered as the first ever organized
literary organization of Pashto was founded by Sanober Hussain Kakajee, Dost
Mohammed Kamil and Amir Hamza Khan Shinwari in 1949. Olasi Adabi Jirga made
astonishing contributions to Pashto literature. The two major achievements of
this organization were literary criticism and research on scientific lines. It
also created great men of letters like Qalandar Moomand, Murad Shinwari,
Saif-u- Rahman Salim, Hamish Khalil, and some others. Qlandar Moomand
founded Da Sahu Leekunkew Adabi Maraka in 1962 and provided invaluable
services to Pashto since its beginning. Qalandar Moomand compiled the first
ever Pashto to Pashto dictionary (Daryab) while Hamish Khalil compiled a
comprehensive directory of Pashto poets and writers (Da Qalam Khawandan)
containing necessary information about more than 3000 men of letters.
The younger generation of poets carried forward the legacy of these early
poets and writers with great enthusiasm. The contributions of Kabul Adabi
Tolana and Pashto Academy are immense. The Afghan scholars, researchers, linguists, historians, poets, and writers
namely Gul Bacha Ulfat, Adul Hai Habbibi, Adur-Rauf Benawa, Qayam -u- Din
Khadim, Adul Shakoor Rashad, Sadiqullah Rashtin and many others have a
major share in promoting Pashto language and literature. In the development of
Pashto language, we see that Amir Sher Ali Khan introduced military titles in
Pashto. These titles are: ghund
(regiment) dagarwal (Colonel), tolai (company), jagran (Major) etc. He also ordered that all military
commands will be delivered in Pashto. He introduced Pashto title ‘Loynab’ for
Prime Minister.
Ø Status of Pashto in Afghanistan:
After 2001, the new political order in Afghanistan created optimism in
linguistic and ethnic minorities. Generally, it is said that language is a tool
of communication, but it is also used as a symbol of power. It means when
someone is in power, his or her language becomes powerful and get the official
status. Language has always played a two-fold role: as an agent of unity
and division. Afghanistan is a multiethnic country. There are many
languages spoken in different parts of Afghanistan. According to ethnologue,
there are 41 languages in Afghanistan. Pashto and Dari have been announced
as official languages in article 16 of the current constitution of Afghanistan.
After the independence of Afghanistan in twentieth century, it also changed its
language policies for the advancement of national identity, political
ideologies, national unity, and ethnic aspirations.
Two main languages of Afghanistan i.e., Pashto and Dari, are Iranian
languages. Pashto belongs to southeastern group of the Iranian branch of
Indo-European languages. There are some extinct languages belonging to Eastern
Iranian group of languages. They are Avestan, Sogdian and Bactrian. But
these are not mutually understandable. A Pashto speaker wouldn’t understand
these languages. Likewise, Pashto and Dari are Iranian language, but they are
not mutually understandable. Both are spoken in same geographical territory and
use the same Perso-Arabic script for their writing. Most of the speakers use
these languages as their second languages.
Ø Development of Pashto as National
Language:
Pashto belongs to southeastern
group of the Iranian branch of Indo-European languages. Pashtuns are the
largest ethnic group in Afghanistan comprising 38 to 44% of the population.
Another source has mentioned Pashtuns, being the largest ethnic group
comprising around 42% of the Afghan population and Tajiks are the next major
ethnic group are 25 to 30% of population. Research has shown that 50% of
Afghans speak Dari and 35% speak Pashto. Although major ethnic group in
Afghanistan is Pashtuns but Dari is used by the majority of the people either as
first language or as a second language, that is why number of Dari speakers are
higher than that of Pashto speakers.
There are three major groups of the dialects of Pashto language.
They are: Nangrahar or eastern dialect, the dialect of Kandahar or
western dialect and the dialect of Kabul or central dialect. People
living in southwest Afghanistan and Baluchistan speak Kandahari dialect. The
Khattak dialect, spoken by people living in Kohat etc. also comes under the
common name Kandahari dialect. Khattak tribe has essentially established the
Pashto literary tradition. Wazirs also have some of the Kandahar features in
their dialect. Speakers of the dialect of Kabul or the central dialect mostly
live in the provinces of Ghazni, Logar, Kabul and Parawan. Speakers of the
Nangrahar dialect or eastern dialect reside in the northeast regions of
Afghanistan and in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Kandahari
dialect enjoys the highest prestige (among the Kandaharis) and works as the
basis for the writing system.
In Amir Habibullah’s era (1901-1919) the language issue got significance.
In 1911 Mahmud Tarzai published an article in Seraj-alakhbar, claimed that
Pashto is the ancestor of all Aryan (Indo-Iranian) languages. On September 12,
1915, Tarzai published another article declaring Persian as official and Pashto
as national language of Afghanistan. At that time state was using Islam, Afghan
history and Pashto language for building one nation and one national identity.
During the reign of King Amanullah Khan (1919-1929), Pashto emerged in newspapers.
In 1924, the first Afghan constitution was endorsed by Loya Jarga. At this
time, Loya Jarga also granted the title of Tolwak to King Amanullah Khan. Loya
Jarga also directed the concerned authorities about the translation of the constitution
and all other government regulations into Pashto language. There is no mention
of languages in this first constitution of Afghanistan. In 1927, some scholars
from Kandahar formed Pashto Maraka. or Pashto Society with the support and
encouragement of the government.
Pashto status planning started in the 3rd decade of 20th
century. Since 1933 it was needed for all civil servants and officials to learn
Pashto with Persian language. Those who spoke Pashto were also being encouraged
and favored for various posts in various departments of the government. King
Nadir Shah (1930-1933) took measures for the promotion of Pashto and Dari
languages and literature. Nadir Shah, when he was in France, had been inspired
by the Academy of France, and on his return, he formed ‘Anjumane-adabi’,
under the supervision of the royal secretariat in 1931. Majalla-e-Kabul and
Saalnama-e-Kabul were being published under this anjuman. There were four
aims of this Anjuman-e-Adabi.
1) First, study and clarification of
Afghan history and heritage.
2) second, development of Afghan
literature and folklore.
3) third, advancement of Pashto language.
4) Fourth, was expansion of the culture
and knowledge of Afghanistan.
Among the forerunners of modern
Afghan Intellectuals and press are: Sarwar Guya, Fikri Saljuqi, Muhammad Ali
Kohzad, Ghulam Muhammad Ghubaar, Sayyid Qasim Rishtiya, Ahmad Ali Durrani, and
Qari Abdullah. Pashto got its state backing, and it was declared as
official language of Afghanistan in 1936. Later on, the Advisory Board of
Education, formed rules and laws for making Pashto as medium of instruction in
elementary schools in all parts of the country. Anjuman-e-Adabi which had been
formed by Nadir Shah was renamed as Pashto Tolana (Pashto Society) and it was
brought under the ministry of education. It was enlarged and several other
divisions were also included in it. Three main tasks were assigned to Pashto
Tolana.
1) They were developing Pashto
dictionary,
2) writing Pashto standard grammar and
3) standardization of Pashto spelling
and pronunciation.
In these developments the titles
of the magazine Majallah-e-Kabul and the year book Saalnaama-e-Kabul
were replaced by da Kabul Majallah and da Kabul Kalanai. Later on in
1941, the yearbook of the Kabul was renamed as da Afghanistan Kalanai. Even
though it was having Pashto titles, the contents were mostly in Persian
language.
Ø Issues in application of Pashto
language:
After announcement of Pashto as official language and as medium of
instruction it faced some problems and issues. Major of these problems and
issues were that other ethnic groups like Uzbek were conversant in Persian
(Dari) and feel aggrieved to learn Pashto, shortage of trained Pashto teachers
in non-Pashtun areas. Moreover, this policy also affected the administrative, economic,
and educational aspects of the development. Due to these reasons the policy
makers were forced to revisit the policy. In 1946, during the reign of Shah
Mahmud Khan as Prime Minister, Persian was rebuilt as an official language. At
that time, minister of education, Najibullah Torwayana, who himself was a
Durrani Pashtun, was of the opinion that making Pashto as medium of instruction
was a mistake and he recommended educational institutions as bilingualist. In
1940s and 1950s, the government took measures for the advancement of Pashto
language. Ministry of information and culture was given this task.
Ø Steps of Pashto academy for
betterment:
Meanwhile, Pashto Academy also took some measures. These were the expansion
of vocabulary, design of official orthography, promotion of research about
Pashto language and literature. At this time Pashto academy also faced the
challenges of the creation of courtesy titles and honorifics in Pashto
language. Pashto academy coined Xagalay, Mermen and Pegla respectively for Mr.
Mrs. And Miss. Pashto academy created equivalent weight of Arabic and Persian
terms used in public and academic institutions. Academy also set up some
academic titles in Pashto as Pohand, Pohanwal and Pohanyar respectively for
professor, associate professor, and assistant professor. Similarly, Pohantun
and Pohanzai were created respectively for university and college. During the
rise of the issue of Pashtunistan, Pashto was entirely used for propaganda in
press and radio in Afghanistan.
Ø Issue of DARI and PASHTO language:
In March 1963, when Shah of Iran
mediated between Pakistan and Afghanistan on the issue of Pashtunistan at that
time Pashtun nationalists felt a fear that these diplomatic relations would
weaken the interest of the government in the issue of Pashtunistan and
similarly pledge of the government for propaganda against Pakistan would be
reduced and thus the commitment of the government for the promotion and
development of Pashto language would also be decreased. That is why during the drafting of
the constitution of 1964 the issue of language policy rose again. Pashtun
nationalists were trying to declare Pashto as national and official language
because they were claiming that this state of Afghanistan has been founded by a
Pashtun, Ahmad Shah Abdali. On the other hand, the Dari speaking people claimed
Dari to be the official and national language because of its rich and old
literary tradition and history.
In article three of the constitution of 1964, Pashto, and Dari languages both
were declared as official languages of Afghanistan. Persian was renamed as Dari
for the first time in this constitution.18 In article 35 Pashto was declared as
national language of Afghanistan. Article 35 states that state will take
necessary measures for the promotion of national language. To implement this
article of the constitution, Dari-speakers were required to attend Pashto
classes after duty otherwise their monthly pay would reduce. At that time a
non-Pashtun Prime Minister, Dr. Muhammad Yusuf, in a press conference, said
that Pashto had rooted in the culture and political history of Afghanistan and
the large number of people speak it. Thus, it had always been the national
language. In an article,
published in Siraj-al-Akhbar, on 12th September 1915, written by Mahmud Tarzi,
Persian (Dari) was labelled as official language while Pashto as national
language. In a book, written in Russian language by Aslanove and later
translated from Russian into Pashto in 1968 by Muatamed Shinwari by the name Da
Afghanistan Milli Jaba aw Adab, Pashto has been named as milli jaba or national
language. Brain Spooner has also termed Pashto as national language. In article
twenty of the 2004 constitution of Afghanistan, it has been declared that
national anthem of Afghanistan will be in Pashto language. It is said that it
is not an correct representation of all Afghans. Before the Soviet Occupation
many attempts were made to equalize Pashto with Dari. For this purpose,
Dari-speaking children were required to study Pashto in the public schools, and
Dari-speaking government officials, were required to take Pashto classes.
Ethno-linguistic factor played a
role in the development of political organizations like Afghan Millat (Afghan
Nation), PDPA, Sho’la-i-Javid (Eternal Flame), and an anti-Pashtun organization
Setam-i-Milli (National Oppression). When PDPA was divided into two parties in
1967, ethnic division was also a factor of this factionalism. The PDPA language
policy was based on Lenin’s egalitarian view about the equality of nation and
languages. Jami’at-i-Islami-i-Afghanistan
formed in 1960s was also divided into two groups on ethnic and linguistic
grounds. On 15th May 1978, PDPA revolutionary council, look its law number four
and declared 7 languages as national languages of Afghanistan. They are Pashto,
Dari, Uzbeki, Turkmani, Nuristani, Pashai and Baluchi. In 1978-79 PDPA
declared Uzbeki, Turkamani, Baluchi and Nuristani as national languages to
divide the strong status of Dari into many sections and thus pave way for
Pashto to arise as sole national and official language. Another reason of PDPA
commitment for declaring minority languages as national languages, was getting
political support of other ethnic groups. During Najib’s reign, in 1987, a new constitution was
introduced. In article thirteen of that constitution Afghanistan was declared
as a multinational state. Article fourteen states that languages, literature,
and culture of all of the nations will be encouraged.
When government of Najib dissolved and Kabul was taken over by Mujahedin
in 1992, Burhanuddin Rabbani was elected by the council of religious leaders in
May 1992. He got support of Dari and Turkic-speaking people and the power of
Pashto decreased in his time. In this period national anthem was also changed from Pashto into Dari.
During Taliban regime, in 1996, there was no language policy, but majority of
Taliban were Pashtuns and majority of them didn’t know Dari. So, Pashto was the
sole official language during Taliban era. In post-Taliban era, in the
constitution of 2004, there is nothing mention about national language but
according to the article twenty of the constitution the national anthem would
be in Pashto language. Article sixteen of the constitution has mentioned
languages like Pamiri, Nuristani, Baluchi, Turkmani, Pachaie, Uzbeki, Dari
and Pashto. Further it has been added that among these and other current
languages of the country Dari and Pashto languages will be used as official
languages of the country. According to the above-mentioned article of the
constitution, state will launch effective strategy for the development of the
languages of Afghanistan. All languages of Afghanistan are freely permitted in
mass media, press and publications. Particular language related to Academic, national,
and administrative departments will be preserved.
Bibliography
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Britannica. (n.d.). Defination, People,Culture. (A.
Zeidan, Ed.) Pashtun People. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com
Central Asia Journal no.83. (2018). Conflict between
Dari and Pashto Language in Afghanistan. Conflict between Dari and Pashto
Language in Afghanistan. Retrieved from http%3A%2F%2Fjournals.uop.edu.pk
Outsourcing Translation. (n.d.). History of Pashto
Language. Breaking The Barriers. Retrieved from
https://www.outsourcingtranslation.com
Pukhtoogle. (2012, march 11). Brief history of
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