Languages
FARSI, DARI: 40% of population; Provinces of Herat, Hazarajat, Balkh, Ghor, Ghazni, Budaksham, Panjsher, and Galcha-Pamir Mountains and Kabul regions. Dialects: DARI (AFGHAN FARSI, HERATI, TAJIKI, KABULI). Dari is taught in schools; radio Afghanistan broadcasts are promoting a standardized pronunciation of the literary language which is based on the old fictional tradition of the country, with its archaic phonetic characteristics. 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. Arabic script. National language. Sunni and Shi'a Muslim. 70 Jews (1980) speak the same dialect as Muslims.
PASHTO: 8,000,000 in Afghanistan (1989), 50% of the population; East, south, and southwest. Dialects: GHILZAI, DURRANI. Since the early 1930's the Afghan government has been exerting considerable effort to standardize and publicize the language. One of the two official languages taught in schools and used everywhere around the country. The people are called 'Pukhtoon' in the north and 'Pushtoon' in the south. The Ghilzai speakers are nomadic and 24% of the national population. The Durrani are urban people, 20%, live in permanent settlements. Clans are: Mohmand, Ghilzai, Durrani, Yusufzai, Afridi, Kandahari (Qandahari), Waziri, Chinwari (Shinwari), Mangal, Wenetsi. Kandahari is the standard dialect, in Kandahar, a major city. National language. Mainly Hanafi Sunni Muslim.
TURKMEN: 500,000 in Afghanistan (1995); 5,397,500 in all countries. Along the border of Turkmenistan, especially the border regions of Faryab and Badghis Provinces. Some in Andkhoi town and Herat city. Sharp dialect differences. Probably mainly Ersari dialect in Afghanistan. A literary language in Afghanistan, but the only literature is a newspaper. Arabic script. Some better educated persons can read Cyrillic. Second language is Pashtu. Refugee group in Kabul. Nomadic, cultivators, pastoralists, Persian lamb export, Persian rugs. Hanafi Sunni Muslim.
PASHAYI: 1% of the population in Afghanistan (1982) From Gulbahar across Kapisa and Laghman provinces to Nuristan on the Alingar River, especially the Alisheng Valley and valleys north of Sarobi. Upper and Lower Darrai Nur Valley, Damench, Shale (Shari). North of Shewa in Nangarhar Province, and adjacent regions of the Alingar Valley in southern Laghman Province. In the upper Darrai Nur there are ten villages which form a single people group with their own dialect., including all Pashayi languages or dialects. Tagau Valley, north of Sorobi, northeast of Kabul. Side valleys between the Kunar and Pech rivers, in Kunar Province, west of Asadabad. The villages of Kandak, Shemul, Aret, Shumasht, and Kordar belong to the Chugani people; All Pashayi peoples have rich folklore and songs preserved by oral tradition. Muslim.
HAZARAGI: 1,403,000 in Afghanistan (1989), 9% of the population (1989); 70,000 in Pakistan (1993); 283,000 in Iran (1993); 1,756,000 or more in all countries. Some estimates go as high as 6,000,000. Central Afghanistan mountains between Kabul and Herat (Hazarajat), in Kabul, in area between Maimana and Sari-Pul, in settlements in north Afghanistan. Ethnic group names are (Central) Dai Kundi, Dai Zangi, Behsud, Yekaulang, (Southern) Polada, Urusgani, Jaguri, Ghazni Hazaras, Dai Miradad. They speak a variety related to Dari; possibly distinct. Agriculturalists, semi-sedentary pastoralists. Imami Shi'a Muslim.
UZBEK: 1,403,000, or 9% of population in Afghanistan (1991) Many places in north Afghanistan, especially Fariab Province. Maimana town is largely Uzbek. A literary language in Afghanistan, but the only literature is 2 journals, circulation 400. Arabic script used, but orthography not yet standardized. City dwellers are bilingual in Dari; village dwellers have limited ability in Dari. Mainly settled agriculturalists, some nomads, some craftsmen in gold, jewels, pottery, leather. Hanafi Sunni Muslim.
