| Population |
5,600,000 25% to 50% of population (1996). Population total both countries 7,000,000. |
| Region |
Various Dari dialects in Khorasan Province (Iran), and provinces of Herat, Hazarajat, Balkh, Ghor, Ghazni, Budaksham, Panjsher, and Galcha-Pamir Mountains and Kabul regions. Also spoken in Pakistan. |
| Alternate names |
PERSIAN, DARI, PARSI |
| Dialects |
DARI (AFGHAN FARSI, HERATI, TAJIKI, KABOLI, KABULI, KHORASANI), PARSIWAN. |
| Classification |
Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Southwestern, Persian. |
| Comments |
Radio Afghanistan broadcasts are promoting a standardized pronunciation of the literary language which is based on the old dictional tradition of the country, with its archaic phonetic characteristics. Formal style is closer to Tehrani Persian (Farsi); informal style in some parts of Afghanistan is closer to Tajiki of Tajikistan. Phonological and lexical differences between Iran and Afghanistan cause little difficulty in comprehension. Most Afghan dialects are closer to literary Persian than Iranian dialects are to literary Persian. Zargari (Morghuli) is a secret language used among goldsmiths and perhaps others, based on a dialect of Persian. See also Balkan Romani in Iran. National language. Arabic script. Taught in schools. Radio programs. Sunni and Shi'a Muslim. 70 Jews (1980) speak the same dialect as Muslims. NT 1982-1985. |
