| Population |
8,000,000 all Pashto in Afghanistan (1989), 35% to 50% of the population (1996). Population total all countries 9,204,000 or more. All Pashto in all countries: 19,000,000 (1999 WA). |
| Region |
Kandahar area. Also spoken in Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, UAE, United Kingdom. |
| Dialects |
SOUTHWESTERN PASHTO, KANDAHAR PASHTO, QANDAHAR PASHTO. |
| Classification |
Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Eastern, Southeastern, Pashto. |
| Comments |
There is generally an 80% lexical similarity between the northern and southern varieties of Pashto. Grammar. Perso-Arabic script used. Muslim. |
| Iran |
| Language name |
PASHTO, SOUTHERN |
| Population |
113,000 in Iran (1993). |
| Alternate names |
PASHTU, PAKTU |
| Comments |
Different from Northern Pashto of Pakistan and India. Sunni Muslim. See main entry under Afghanistan. |
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| Pakistan |
| Language name |
PASHTO, SOUTHERN |
| Population |
1,000,000 to 1,500,000 in Pakistan (1992). |
| Alternate names |
PUSHTO, PUSHTU |
| Dialects |
SOUTHEASTERN PASHTO, QUETTA PASHTO. |
| Comments |
80% lexical similarity with Northern Pashto, 76% with Central Pashto. Some Pashto speakers educated in Urdu medium schools mix Urdu into their Pashto speech. Perso-Arabic script used. Muslim. See main entry under Afghanistan. |
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| United Arab Emirates |
| Language name |
PASHTO, SOUTHERN |
| Population |
Thousands in UAE. |
| Alternate names |
PAKTU, PAKHTU, PAKHTOO, AFGHAN |
| Comments |
Speakers have come from Afghanistan. Unskilled laborers, drivers, shopkeepers. Mainly Sunni Muslim. See main entry under Afghanistan. |
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