As mentioned in the Introduction, Pashto has a number of dialects. This topic describes the main distinctions between the Northern and the Southern groups of dialects.
Abbreviations: N = Northern group of dialects; S = Southern group of dialects.
Pronunciation:
a) The letter [Kh] - ښ is pronounced in two ways:
N: it sounds similar to [kh]:
"Pashto" - [pakhtó] پَښْتُو
S: it sounds similar to [sh]:
"Pashto" - [pashtó] - پَښْتُو
b) The letter [Gh] - ږ is also pronounced in two ways:
N: it sounds similar to [g]:
"I understand" - [zA pohégAm] زٌه پُوهېږٌم
S: it sounds similar to [zh]:
"I understand" - [zA pohézhAm] زٌه پُوهېږٌم
c) The vowel [A] is changed into the vowel [u] in the Northern dialects:
N: "black radish" - [turb] تُرْب
S: "black radish" - [tArb] تٌرْب
d) The letter [yaa -yi maruf] ی is often pronounced differently at the end of words:
N: it is pronounced like the vowel [e]:
"son" - [zoe] زُوې , "me, us" - [me] مې , "you" - [de] دې , "man" - [saRe] سَړې, "distant" - [líre] لیرې
S: It is pronounced like the vowels [i] [y] or [ay]:
"son" - [zoy] زوی , "me, us" - [mi] مى , "you" - [di] دى , "man" - [saRay] سَړَی, "distant" - [líri] لیرى
e) In some words, the following sounds are used before the consonant [m]:
N: [n]:
"sun" - [nmar] نْمَر , "grandson" - [nmasay] نْمَسَی
S: [l]:
"sun" - [lmar] لْمَر , "grandson" - [lmasáy] لْمَسَی
Nouns:
a) Noun formation and endings may differ:
N: feminine nouns that end in consonants or in the stressed or unstressed [-a] -ه have the ending [-e] -ې in the singular indirect and plural direct forms:
"apple" - [maNá] مَڼَه → singular indirect = plural direct [maNé] مَڼې
"eye" - [stÁrga] سْتٌرْگَه → singular indirect = plural direct [stÁrge] سْتٌرْگې
"needle" - [stAn] سْتٌن → singular indirect = plural direct [stÁne] سْتٌنې
S: feminine nouns that end in consonants and the unstressed [-a] -ه have the ending [-i] -ى in the singular indirect and plural direct forms. Feminine nouns that end in the stressed [-a] -ه have the ending [-e] in the singular indirect and plural direct forms:
"eye" - [stÁrga] سْتٌرْگَه → singular indirect = plural direct [stÁrgi] سْتٌرْگى
"needle" - [stAn] سْتٌن → singular indirect = plural direct [stÁni] سْتٌنى
"apple" - [maNá] مَڼَه → singular indirect = plural direct [maNé] مَڼې
b) Different words are used in two dialects to denote the same thing, for example:
N S
"summer" - [óRay] اُوړَی [dóbay] دُوبَی
"cheek" - [anangáy] اَنَنْگَی [baarkhú] بارخُو
"shoe" - [mocháNa] مُوچَڼَه [paNá] پَڼَه .
Verbs:
a) Potential participles are written in different ways:
N: potential participles end in [-a] -ه :
"can do" - [kawAláy] کَوٌلَی
"can write" - [likÁlay] لیکٌلَی
S: potential participles end in [-aa] -ا :
"can do" - [kawAlaáy] کَوٌلای
"can write" - [likÁlaay] لیکٌلای
b) Personal verb endings in the second person plural may differ:
N: [-Ay] -ۍ :
"you are" - [taáso yAy] تاسو یۍ or [taáso yaastÁy] تاسُو یاسْتۍ
"you were" - [taáso wAy] تاسُو وۍ
S: [-yaast] -یاست :
"you are - [taási yaast] تاسى یاسْت
"you were" - [taasi waast] تاسى واسْت
c) The past imperfective forms of transitive verbs in the third person in northern dialects have the ending [-o] -و :
N:
"I was reading a book" - [maa kitaab lwastÁlo] ما کِتاب لْوَسْتٌلُو
"he was writing a letter" - [dA khat likÁlo] دٌه خَط لیکٌلُو
S:
I was reading a book" - [maa kitaab lwost] ما کِتاب لْوُوسْت
"he was writing a letter" - [dA khat likÁ] دٌه خَط لیکٌه
d) Present verb forms in the passive voice use different forms of the word "to become" as auxiliary verbs:
N: [shwAl] شْوٌل :
"I am called" - [zA balAl shwAm] زٌه بَلٌل شْوٌم
S: [kedÁl] کېدل :
"I am called" - [zA balAl kéGhAm] زٌه بَلٌل کېږٌم
e) The verb "to go" has different past perfective forms in the two dialects:
N:
"he went" - [day laaR] دَی لاړ
S:
"he went" - [day wlaaR] دَی وْلاړ
f) The verb "to have" [larÁl] لَرٌل has different past imperfective forms in the two dialects:
N:
"I had" - [maa larAlo] ما لَرٌلُو
S:
"I had" - [maa darlod] ما دَرْلُود
g) The prefix [ke-] کی- and the related postposition have different variants in the two dialects:
N: [ke-] کې- :
"to sit down" - [kenastÁl] کېنَسْتٌل
S: [kKhe-] کښې-:
"to sit down" - [kKhenastÁl] کښېنَسْتٌل .
Prepositions and Postpositions:
a) Postpositions are usually used without prepositions in some northern dialects.
b) Northern dialects use the preposition "on" - [pA] پٌه instead of the preposition "on" - [pAr] پٌر . The northern dialects also use the postpositions [la] له or [lára] لَرَه instead of the postposition [ta] ته.
N:
"on a tree" - [pA wúne baánde] پٌه وُنې بانْدی ;
"to the city" - [khaar la] ښار لَه
S:
"on a tree" - [pAr wúni baándi] پٌر وُنى بانْدى
"to the city" - [shaar ta] ښار تَه
See Also: