DOCUMENT RESUME ED 399 825, FL 024 258 ‘AUTHOR Tegey, Habib! lah; Robson, Barbara TITLE A Reference Grammar of Pashto. INSTITUTION Center For Applied Linguistics, Washington, D.C. SPONS AGENCY Department of Education, Washington, DC. PUB DATE 96 contract P017A50047-95, NOTE, 243. Pup TYPE, Reference Materials ~ General (130) LANGUAGE English; Pashto EDRS PRICE —-HFOI/PC10 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Adjectives; Alphedeta; Diachronie Linguistics; Form Classes (Languages); “Grammar; *Lenguege Patterns; Language Usage; Linguistic Borrowing: Literature: Morphology (Languages) ; Nouns; Oral Language; ‘Pashto: Phoneme Graphene Correspondence; Phonology; Prepositions; Pronouns; Punctuation; Reference Materials; Second Languages; Sentence Structlre: Syntax; *Unconmonly Taught Languages; Verbs; Written Language ABSTRACT ‘This grammar of Pashto was designed to accompany a set of beginning- and intermediate-level instructional materials for teaching the Pashto language fo English speakers, but can be used separately as a reference by readers who are not Learning th language. Introductory sections in English and Pashto describe the content and organization. The first chapter gives background information on the people who speak it and on the Language ‘history, social status, dialects, standardization, and history of its study). Subsequent chapters address grammatical forms and uses in the Language, including: phonology and pronunciation; Pashto word stock and their origins, borrowings fron Persian, Arabic, Urdu, English, ‘and Russian and other Languages; the Arabic~based writing system, written Literature, alphabet, and punctuation: nouns: pronoun: adjactives; verb Eorms and verb uses; prepositions; simple sentence structure: conjunction: and subordinate clause structure. Contents are indexed. (MSE) + Reproductions supplied by EDAS are the best that can be made * * From the original document. aa R B A Reference Qrammar of Pashto Center for Applied Linguistics BEST COPY SeA Reference Grammav of Pashto Habibullah Tegey Barbara Robson Center for Applied Linguistics Washington, D.C. 1996 3Acknowledgements ‘This Reference Grammar of Pashto has been developed with funding trom Grant No. PO17A50047-95 from the International Research and Studies Program of the US. Department of Education, We are grateful to that office for tte continuing support of aur materials development projects for Pashto, and other languages. The Grammar is tne final component of a set of materials teaching the Pashto language to English speakers, all developed at the Center for Appited Linguistics. The other components are: Beginning Pashto (textbook, workbook, tapescripts, teachers’ manual) Intermediate Pesnto (textbook, Workbook, teachers: manual) Pashto Reader (textbook, originals, passages in transcription) Pashto Conversation (tapescripts, workbook) Pashto-English Glossary for the CAL Peshto Materials All components are avaflable in microfiche or hard copy through the ERIC Document Reproduction Service. For ordering information, please contact EDRS at 1- 800-443-ERIC. For information on ERIC and the Pashto metertals, please call the ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics at 1-800-276-9834, or contact them through their web site at nttp://www.cal.org/ericcll. Further information on the Pashto matertals can be found at the Center for Applied Linguistics’ web site at http://www.cal.org. ‘We are grateful ta Dr. Fazel Nur, for his ongaing service to the project as 2 j2cond opinion’ on the Pashto examples and analyses. We are especially indsbtod to Taylor Roberts, graduate student in lingutstics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, whose careful reading and extensive, detatled comments have improved the grammar exponentially in accuracy, consistency and readability, MtTable of Contents ‘Acknowledgements... “ To the English-speaking Reader Note « yaly ‘Chapter 1: Pashto and the Pashtuns ‘A. The People Who Speak Pashio B. The Language fts namo Its ancestry Its social status Its dialects. Its standardization History of its study Chapter 2: Pronunciation ‘A. Introduction B. Consonants... Technical description of consonants, ‘Non-native Pashto conconants ‘The dental consonants... ‘The retraflex consonants C. Vowels ‘Technical description of vowel Notes on the vowels Diphthongs nun D. Sylable Structure “Two-consonant Clusters ‘Three-consonant Clusters. Consonant Clusters at the E. Stress and Intonation Basic word stress Stress in affixes Secondary stresses Intonation... F. Malor Dialectal Differences G. Other Analyses Chapter 3: Pashto Words Introduction Pashto's Basic . Borrowings from and through Persian Borrowings Directly trom Arabic . Borrowings from Urdu and English Recent Borrowings from English and Fusian 3. Intemational Words in Pashto an ommoop, Chapter 4: The Writing System 37 A. Pash’ Arabi-based Wing Sytem 37 ‘The Arabic alphabet... 37 Letters pecullar to Pashto.Chapter 4: The Writing System (Cont,) B. Handwritten, Printed, and Computerized Pashio, B. Masculine and Feminine Noun Giasses . Masculine Nouns 38 C. Pashto Written Literature 39 D. The Letters in the Pashto Alphabet 38 , Punctuation 43 F. Fllationship between Spal a Chapter 6: Nouns 1 48 ‘A. Introduction 46 48 47 a7 MY nouns. M2 nouns. 0 MG nouns. 5 Mé nouns. 53 D. Feminine Nouns 56 F1 nouns. 54 F2 nouns, 55 FS nouns. 58 E. lreguiar Nouns 56 ‘Arabic borrowings. 7 Kinship terms... 57 Other old iregular words, 59 F, Regularization 59 Gender and class 60 G. Singuars and Plurals 60 ‘Mass nouns. 60 Numerical plrais. 6 H. Uses of the Cases. Uses of the direct forms of nouns. Uses of the oblique forms of nouns. |. Other Analyses Chapter 6: Pronouns A Introduction 8. Weak Pronouns Form ‘Occurrence ve ther characteristics of weak pronouns ©. Strong Pronouns... 1D. Demonstrative Pronouns ANNIBBRARRR BRB . Other Pronouns Interrogative Note on tknpall J.5 F. Other Analyses 4 Chapter 7: Adjectives 78 ‘A. tntroduetion 8 B. Adjective Ciasses 5 Ad) 1 rm 78 Aaj 2 78 al 3 7 Ad 79 “ 6Chapter 7: Adjectives (Cont.) Chapter 8: Verb Forms Chapter 9: Verb Uses C. Iregular Adjectives 1. Numbers. é 80 Number symbols a Numbers as adjectives 80 Ordinal numbors 83 E, Vocative Forms of Adjectives 85 F. Uses of Adjectives... 2 85 G. Comparison of Adjectives 87 H. Variation 87 1 Adjectives and Adveros 87 J. Othar Analyses 88 ‘A, Introduction 8, Personal Endings Present tense endings Past tensa endings G. Tense and Aspect D. The Vert be E Auxiiaries The intransitive auxiliary The transitive auxiliary. F. Simple Verbs ‘Ordinary simp! ‘Simple intransitive vers ending in ‘Simple verbs ending in [-aw-] ~~ ‘Simple irregular verbs Simple Verbs beginning with [8] -1 G. Derivative Verbs H. Doubly Irregular Verbs |. Participles Formation of impertective participles Formation of pertective participles Idiosyncratic participles: J. Other Analyses ‘A, Introduction B. Present Time Expr be ‘The present impertert Negative prasent impertective constructions ‘The present perfective tense, C. Future Time Exprosions Future Statements with be : {bal withthe present perfective tense. Nogative future expressions wn sunnrnnne Present mparective tense wit future time phrases Contrastive future expressions. vuChapter ¥. Vorb Uses (Cont) D. Commands ‘Commands with be Positive commends. (Commande with [wardz-I ak (J y9) and [r842-1 ~ so, (i) Negative commands, Intensive commands. E. Past Time Expressions Past ime expressions wi The pastimperfectve tense The past perfective tense “Perfect” expressions F. Expressions wit Infniives Caton forms. Infintives as nouns Passives .. G. Expressions of ‘canvbe able to! ‘might be able H. Expressions of Obligation Constructions with must (dels Constructions with ‘should [Dayéd) 4 |. Summary: Forms and Uses J. Other Analyse (Chapter 10: Prepositions \- Introduction B. Pre-positions ©. Post-positions 8. E > Pre-post-positions Deleted elements . Special Cases ‘trom’ [la .. nal < wd Iter 5 Phrases with ‘house’ {karl PrOFOMS rns Noun Cases with Prepositions Prepositions in Phrases... |. Uses of Prepositionat Phrases Indirect objects . Comparatives Superlatives |. Other Analyses zon Chapter 11: Simple Sentence Structure ‘A. Introduction 8. Basic Word Order SOV 0100 ensnnennansrn Deletion of subjects and objects, Word order In questions wgChapter 11; Simple Sentence Stucture (Cont) ‘©. Noun Phrases... ‘Order of elements (Order of modifiers in noun phrases D. Verb Phrases ‘Order of elements in verb phrases Cre n negative verb pases E, Particles... ‘The partick ‘The first stressed element in a sentence Order of particles among themselves. F, Order of Modifiers in Sentences Time phrases @. Agreemen H._The Ergative Construction |. Two Unusual Constructione Verbs that require possessive subjects Impersonal transitive’ verbs. K. Other Analyses Chapter 12: Conjunction A. Introduction. B. Conjoined Nouns and Noun Phrases ‘Adjective agreement wih conjoined nouns ‘Agroomentof vers wih conjoined subjects . Double Conjunctions . Conjoined Sentences Other Analyses. moo Chapter 13: Subordinate Clause Structure ‘A. Introduction B. Noun Clauses ‘Noun clauses as subjects Noun clauses as direct objects Reported speech ‘Tense restrictions with some common verbs Noun clauses a complement f Noun clauses as objects of repostions ©. Relative Clauses... - D. Adverbial Cieusos Time clauses ‘Causal clauses: and (z6xal «Ss e : Clausas atta idiomatic expressions E, Conditionals and Countertactuals een Conditional sentences... Counterfactuals Prasont unreal conditional Present unreal condition, resuttin‘Chaptar 13: Subordinate Clause Structure (Cont) E. Conaitlanais and Countertactuels (Cont) ‘Past unreal condtonals Past unreal consitlon, present result ast unreal condition, past result i Conditional sentences expressing abilty F, Other Analyses IMdOKTo the Reader ‘As a component of the Center for Applied Linguistics’ Pashto teaching materials, this grammar ts intended to accompany, organize and amplify the prasentations of grammar in Beginntag and Intermedtate Pashto. It can also be used independently by readers who ere not leerning to spaak the language. As ts appropriate with a reference grammar, the Table of Contents and Index are designed so that the raader can find the pages in which epecttic topics are described. The chapters can also be reud through in order, for an overall picture of Pashto grammar. Charts of forms and and other such informattun are given in boxes, for example: ‘student’ DS. [shagéral 3,SL% OP :[shAgerdén} ls SL rn 0S: [sngérd} 2 ,SL& OP: [snagarddino] sla .SLe which shows the different forms that an M1 noun can occur in, Abbreviations used in the tables are given at the beginnings of chapters. Example words are presented in Pashto script, transcription, and gloss (= translation into English) In presenting words and short phrases, the foitowing format is used: gloss’ {transcriptton] Pashto script for example ‘Pashto’ [paxtél gree In presenting longer phrases and sentences, a word-for-word gloss Is given, and the following format 1s used. {transcription! Pashto script wore-for-word gloss “Idlomattc translation for example: panto gera pa 24 pore z2ébe ca 19843 wou 93 Yee HY Pashto very with heart Ika language is Pashto 6 an Interesting languaga ‘Tne word-for-word gloss includes grammatical information f neceesery or useful, far exam, (wgay yor! a hungry bees “are you hungry?Attempts have been made to keep each word In the word-for-word gloss directly under is Pashto equivalent, but unavoidable vagaries in the fonts and word processing program frequently crowd the word-for-word glosses to the left. We have taker. steps to simplify the presentation of exemples for the reader who ts not working with Beginning and Intermediate Pashto, by keeping the apnearance of new vocabulary to @ minimum, The same people and objects appear from exemple to exempl and when possible, the same sentences appear from section to section with appropriate changes in tense, number, etc., to IMlustrate the paints being made, ‘The reader is urged to remember that thts grammar, and other grammars of Pashto, are much more tentative than are grammers of English or other languages with Jong grammatical traditions. As we mention in Chapter 1, Pashte grammatical studies are in thetr infancy, and such simple matters as the number of noun classes or namas of the tenses are by no means definitely egreed on, as they ere for languages that have te studied for a tong time. We hope that thts grammar corrects and refines previous studies of Pashto (including some of the analyses tn Beginning and Intermediate Pashtol), and at ‘the same time fully expect that subsequent studies of Pashto grammar will correct and refine our work. ‘As wa have developed the grammar, we have come to respect more and more the ‘work of Hernert Pen2l, whose 1955 grammar of Pashto was developed under far more Aifficult practical circumstances, and within a much more ‘restrictive’ grammatical framework, than ours. We dedicate this grammar to his memory, Habibullah Tegey Barbara Robson 12 at3334 Sat a Ge HIS 2S gle Gg GES gos Got sal «Jah gS ogee cad gay abl ga dg vos ght pa als 8 te IS Joo est Saye Ge HIS slay test pre SE I syph ob gy HIS 5 26 Oe eek Je! Lae gy lS Gate on alos CLbel Ia aile grad s2F ahd 9 ls Sl Srey Gal! gd BH +659 GF ealieed Sy gy pee o pee GIS gals SMT SS I 5S gb rged herbs o? ere PRES ge 93 2 4S 095 Hy Gye @ OG > SLIS >! SHS shoe 3 gd Hy 8S srkS ay dS, Le Se 8 ey Got See pa pe S coh Gg Slee poe Jad Sard 6 59 slay 6 BE Ses GHLS a lo Pls SE seo Ble ped Gris ones gd Sey se 99 bt SSIs pa mS seg oe oles aed opie GI a. Pree Gol S ge soe plo Sle J Gia one WSo pS 9 e998 Spe 9 0d re S ork Gg Helesss glee I SSB sod GH oe oy gS Shay eS 083 3 gh te be ell ore ne Gated cay 2 6 BHES Gerd ge Se St Glas cle cali yyy pa 6 IS dogs ple vegas ple syle a pla Sle sie 3 2 gd stay ae HIS Io ee oa de st ded oo GIS! & Ss oS x 4gChapter 1: Pashto and the Pashtuns A. The People Who Speak Pashto Pashto is a principal language in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is spoken natively by aver naif the population of Afghanistan, an estimated 7,500,000, and by about 90% of ‘the population in the Northwest Frontler Province of Pakistan, an estimated 14,000,000. Pashto fs also spoken natively in Baluchistan, the province of Pakistan directly south of central Afghanistan; there is @ community of about twa militan who speak Pashto natively in Karach!; and there are about $0,000 native speakers tn Iran, PAKISTAN EBD pasnte speaking rea (Language name) Other Tongue 14Chapter 1: Pashto and the Pashtuns ‘The majority of Pashto speakers occupy @ single geographical ares which constitutes roughly the southern part of Afghantstan and the northeastern pert of Pakistan. This predominantly Pashtun area ts bordered by Dari speakers in the north; Dart ts a dialect of Persian, and is the other major language in Afghanistan. The areas to ‘the northeast are adjacent to Uzbek- and Turkmen- speaking areas in Afghanistan, which themselves border Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The Pashto-speeking area is bordered ‘onthe southeast by Urdu speexers, and by Beluchi speakers directly south. Pashto ‘speakers and these othar ethnic groups have buen living side by side for centurtes, and share many cultural and economic characteristics, ‘The people who speak Pashto call themselves Pashtuns (pronounces pashtcnz))! In Pakistan and India, they are referred to as Pathans; (pronounced [naténal) by non- Pashtuns. Other ethnic graups, including westerners, have traationally called Pashtuns Afghans; when King Ahmad Shah established a political state tn the 1700's, he celled tt Afghanistan - the country of the Afghans, i, Pashtune. It fs only in the last fifty years or so that the term Afghan has come to refer to any resident of Afghanistan, regerdiess” of ethnic background. Now, the term Pashtun seems to have been adopted by westerners (although Pashtuns tn Pakisten are still called Pathans). When the notion ts discussed of fan independent Pashtun state, for example, the state fs usually called Pashtunistan. Pashtuns figure prominently in the history of the British Empire in india, They occupied end dominated the Northwest Frontier ar which was then the northernmost boundary of the British holdings tn india. The British spent years trying not very successfully to bring the “Afgrans" into some sort of governable order. Nine! century British attitudes towards Pashtuns are reflected in a number of books, grammars and government ° eparts, and alternate between extreme exasperation and reluctant admiration and affection. An example of the exasperation can be seen in an 1851 article in the Army and Navy Gazette: “Afghan chiefs were able to talk treason in Pashto before the noses of our generals, while assuring them of their fideltty in Persian.” An example of the admiration can be seen In the first sentences of the Introduction to Sir Olaf Carae's The Pathans. “There 1g a strange fascination in living among the Pathans..One seerat of the hold of the North-West Frontier ts to be sought in the tremendous scenic canvas nth 1 Words in square brackets represent transcriptions of pranunclatian. There isa detatled explanation of the transcription system usad in this Grammar in Chapter 2. In English spelling, Pashtun would be approximately pahshtoon, end Pathan would be approximately pahtann, The stress 1s on the last syllable in both words.Chapter 1. Pashto and the Pashtuns against which the Pathan plays out hts life, a canvas brought into vivid relief by sharp, cruel changes of climate. Sometimes the assault on the spirit 1s that of stark ugliness and discomfort - appalling heat, a dust-storm acrass the Peshawer plain, the ercded foot-nills of Khalbar or Waziristan; more often it 18 an Impression of beauty indescribable in its clarity an contrast with the barren ‘emptiness that went before. The weft and warp of this tapestry 1s waven into the souls and bodies af the men who move before it...” (p. xv) Pashtun soctety 1s basically tribal. There are well aver @ hundred tribes, each with its own name and linaage, tha latter usually traced to a mythical ancestor. Tribes are located and/or have power in particular areas~-British records frequently refer to ‘one or the other of the tribes providing opposition ta British ambitions in an area, Most Pashtuns are highly conscious of thetr tribal affiltation, although many who nave migrated to Kabul and Herat have become “detribalized", having iast their ties ta the! tribes. Many of these ethnic Pashtuns no longer speak Pashto, although they Identity themselves as Pashtuns. Such Pashtuns in Afghanisten speak Dart; those in Pakistan speak Urdu or Selucht. Pashtun society {s characterized by what westerners call the Pashtunwall, an unwritten but nonetheless powerful cade of ethics which emphasizes hospitality, revenge, and honor. Overlying the Pashtunwail ts Islam: Pashtuns in general are among the mare canservative Sunni Moslems, and since the Soviet occupation in the 1980's, the Islamic fundamentalist movement thet has established itself in other Islamic countries has gained a strong foothold among the Pashtuns as well Traditionsliy, such education as Pashtuns received was provided by mosques, and was confined to teaching of the Kora. (in Arabic) and related subjects. In the years before the Soviet occupation af Afghanistan, various governments had started a basic BubItc education system, and at least primary education gradually became available to rural as well as urban Pashtuns. Progrese wae brought to a halt, however, by response to the Soviet attempts to “Sovietize” the educational system, and whatever was left af it was completely destroyed by fighting among the factions struggling for control after the Soviets left Afghanistan in 1989. ‘The literacy rate among Afghan Pashtuns has always Deen very low (about 5X according to the best available sstimates), and the destruction of the educational system will undoubtedly result In even lower rat Below are listed the most extensive ganeral descriptions of the Pashtuns and of Atghantstan. Natfonal Geographic articles on Afghanistan end Paktsten are also * 16Chapter 1: Pashto and the Pashtuns recommended as vivid Intraductions to the people and the land they occupy, For @ more extensive bioitography of works on Arghanistan, see the article ‘Afghanistan’ on pp. 25- 36 of Vol. 13, The Encyclopedia Britannica (15th edition, 1994), Caroe, Sir Olaf The Pathans 550 8.C. - A.D, 1957. With an epilogue on Russia by the ‘author. Karacht: Oxford University Press, 1983. Dupree, Louts. Afghanistan. Princeton, NJ Princeton University Press, 1960. ‘Nyrop, Richard F. and Donald M. Seekins, arghanrstan, A Country Study, Sth ed Washington, DC.. US. Government Printing Office, 1983 B. The Language Tis name. For a variety of reasons, the name af the Pashto language has been spelled in several ways. One reason is that the midtle consonant (the (shl} 1s 8 sound that differs from one dialect to the other. As will be discussed in Chapter 2, speakers of the Kandahar dialect pronounce the ward with a [shl-like middle consonant, and speakers of the central and eastern dialects pronounce it with a sound similar to German chor Greek x ‘The second reason for the variety in rendering of the word Pashto !s that there has naver been a standardized transiiteration! system for rendering the language in a roman alphabet, and so writers dealing with the language are free to transliterate as, they choose. In the West, the Pashto spelling seems to have teken hold (the Voice of ‘America has @ Paahta Service, and the BBC has a Pashta Program) although Pushtu is a commoniy seen variant. ‘A look at earlier books and reports on the Pashtuns shows more diversity in the representation of the name, H.W. Bellew's 1867 grammar of Pashto, for example, 1s called A Grammar of the Pukkhto or Pukshto Languege (the underlining is Bellew's),and Sollow spells the language as Pukknto throughout, with the kkh underlined, presumably to show that it 1s a multiple-letter rendition of a single sound, ar maybe to show that it ' The term transtiteration refers to the writing of one alphabet in the characters of ‘another, and ts different from transcription, which refers to the representation of the sounds of @ language by means of written symbols. Strictly speaking, the trensiiteration of the Pashto spelling of Pashto into romen cheracters Would be something I1ke pxtu (the alphabet does not spell out many of the vowels); the transcription of the word Pashto is, ‘in the system used in this Grammar, [oaxt6l 4 17Chapter 1+ Pashto and the Pachhans was a non-English sound. In D. L.R. Lorimer's grammar, published fifty yeers lal language name |s spelled Pashtu the Jts ancestry. Pashto nelangs to the Irantan branch of the Indo-European family of languages. ts clos t major relatives are Persian, Kurdish, Belucht, Tajik, and Ossetian, ell languages are spoken in the area around Afghanistan, ‘As an Indo-European language, Pashto is distantly related to English, as can be seen {n the following diagram, which includes the major branches of the family and ane or two well-known languages belonging to each branch ees Celtic Germanic tale. onic Baltic Stave Indio ranlan (Welsh) (English, (allan, (Greek) (Latvian, (Fussian, (Hind, (Persian, German} French) thvanian) Pals) Urdu)’ Pashto) Despite the fact that it 1s written with a variant of the Arabic alphabet and uses @ number of Arabic words, Pashto is not related to Arabic. It 1s also not related to the Turkle languages, two of which (Uzbek and Turkmen) are spoken in Afghanistan. Pashto appeers to be the most conservative of the Iranian languages, in that it nas preserved archaic elements that the other languages have lost. One of these elements is the distinctive ergative construction described in Chapter 11, which has been lost tow great extent in the other trantan languages. Another element retained by Pashto Is a gender system in nouns: Pashto has masculine and feminine nouns, whe 18 nouns In the other Iranian languages are not differentiated by gender. Besides retaining archaic elements of the Iranian languages, Pashto shares some characteristics with the Indic languages spoken to the south, most notably the retroflex consonants, which are present in the Indic but not in the Iranian languages. Pashto shares great numbers of words with Dari, not only because the languages are related, but also because Pashtuns and Dart speakers have been neighbors for centurie Dart also have numbers of words in common, which have been borrowed from Arabic. ‘and mare recently have been citizens of the same country. Both Pashto end 518Chapter 1: Pashto and the Pashturs Tis social status. While Pashto Is @ nationat language of Afghanistan, it is, second in social prestige to Darl, which as we mentioned above is a dialect of Persian Before the Soviet occupation, there were attempts to “equalize” Pashto: Dari-speaking children were required to study Pashto in the public schools, end Deri-speaking government officials were required to teke Pashto classes. These attempts did not result in much change, however; now, es before, any educated Pashtun in Afghanistan sneaks Derl, but very few Dart speakers speak Pashto, In Pakistan, Pashto has no official status: Pathans who receive education do so in Urdu and/or English As a result of the British presence in the Northwest Frontier Province, however, there are more publishing houses In Pakistan, and, consequently, more Pesnto books are pubitshed in Peshawar than in Afghentsten, Tis dialects. There are dialects and sub-dielects of Pashto, as there are of any language. Thase dialects have not been classified or studied to any ,-eat extent by western grammarians, and most Peshtuns themselves are sensitive only to the obvious aif ferences in pronunctation and vocabulary, ‘There are three major dialects of Pashto: the Kandahar or western dialect, the Kabul or central dialect, and the Ningrahar or eastern dtalect3. Speakers of the Kandsher dialect live mostly in southwest Afghanistan and in Beluchisten. The Khattek tribe living 1n Guhat - the tribe that errectively established the Pashto literary tradition ~ ‘speaks Kandahar Pashto, and the neighboring Waziris have some of the Kendahar characteristics in their dialect, notably the same set of retroflox consonants. Speakers of the central, or Kabul, dialect, iive mostiy in the Kabul, Logar, Ghazni and Parwan provinces. Speakers of the eastern, or Ningrahar dialect, live in the northaest sections of Afghanistan, and in the Northwast Frontier Province of Pakistan. Differences emong these dialects are largely in pronunciation, the details of ‘which will be discussed in Chapter 2. The Kandahar and Kabul dlalects (spoken in 2 We are using the term ‘dlalect’ In its technical sense, 1. to refer to variations of the language that arise mostly througn geographical or nistoricel isolation. Note that in this, sense, no one dialect of another 1s considered to he ‘better" in some absolute sense, although it fs often the case that one dlatect may cerry moe socte. prestige than another. 3 You will frequently encounter the adjectival forms of the city names--Kandaner', Kebull, and Ningrahert-- in referring to the inhabitants of the cities, and in such phrases ‘the Kendahart dialect’ or ‘Kabul! customs: 6Chapter 1: Pashto and the Pashtuns Afghanistan) are most likely to borrow vocabulary from Persian, whereas the Eastern dialect (spoken mostly in Pakistan) 1s mora likely to borrow vocabulary from Urdu and English. Sophisticated Pashtuns have large passive vocabularies of words from other dialects, 1.2, they know a good many words on hes own speech, ‘The dialectal differences among these major dialect groupe of Pashto are ‘ing them, but do not use them in their relatively minor: speakers of most dialects of Pashto are readily understood by almost all speakers of other dialects, except for Pashtuns located in isolated areas who might have trouble understanding and being understood by Pashtuns trom distant areas, Two of these Isolated dialects have attracted attention and some study: the Wazirt dialect spoken on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the Wardak cialect spoken ‘in Kabul province, have been observed to differ markedly from the other dialects, By and large, each Pashtun considers his own dialect to be the ‘normal’ way to speak Pashto, although the Kandahar dialect enjays the most prestige (at least among the Kandaharis), and serves as tne basis for the writing system. However, as the 1Sth- century British soldier and grammarian D. L.R. Lorimer observed Many an Afridi or Shinwart (tribes then located in the Northwest Frontier Province] phrase or pronunctation will incur the contempt of the Peshawar Munshi {a Peshtun teacher of the British troops tn Peshewerl as a solecism or @ boorishness, while to the countryman the Munsht's speech will s2em foreign womanish, and mincing. It ts highly probable that one tribe's opinion of another's dialect of Pashto reflected, and still reflects, the tribe's genera! opinion of the other. Jis standardization, Pashto is not étanderdized in the wey that English or ‘most of the European languages are, There 1s, in other words, no universal egreement among Pashto speakers as to whet constitutes ‘correct’ Pashto, either oral or written Standeratzation arises {rom a high level of literacy or fram a long-standing grammaticel tradition, neither of which Pashto has. English speakers, for example, are accustomed to the notion that there are universally-eccepted rules for spelling ans punctuation, and consider that writers who do not follow these rules are uneducated. Pashto speakers, on ‘me other hand, nave no set of rules to go by, and many of them (in Pakistan especially) have naver had formal Instruction !n Pashto (ne of the rasults of this lack of standeratzetion 1s tnet individual Pashtun writers vary widely in spalling and punctuation. Wards are fraquently spelled 20Chapter 1: Pashto and the Pashtuns Gifferently, net only from one writer to another, but often by the same writer, and even within the same document. Even such matters as spacing between words are not consistent. This variation does not pose much of a problem to native speakers (highly Miter ¢ Pashtuns are so accustomed to dealing with the variation that they do not even notice it) but it is a major challenge to learners of the language and non-native speaking readers. It ts important to remember that although many Pashto texts are by writers who have only a few years of formal schooling, lack of consistency in spelling and punctuation does not always reflect lack of education or sophistication an the part of the writer: it {sas often a reflection «f the lack of standardization in the Tengua, ‘Another challenge to learners of the language 1s that Pashto writing in newspapers and magazines {s frequently written by non-native speakers, and ts liable to contain re rors, similer in kind to such errors as He are herein English. Also, Pasnto newspaper and magazine artictes are I1kely to be translated from Deri or Urdu, and the translated sentences often bot mors resemblance to the original language than they do to Pashto. Finally, typesetters are usually not native Pashto speakers, and therefore cannot verify the correctness of their own typesetting. In the years vefore the Russian invasion in 1979, there attempts to establish standards for Pashto. For exemple, the Pashto Academy wes established in Kabul in the 1930's uy King Zaher, in an effort to develop Pashto so thet it could he used *s the medium of instruction in schoels and the tanguage spoken tn government offices. Members of the Pashto Academy engaged in a variety of activities: they developed dictionaries, printed the works of Pashtun poets, conducted research in the social sciences, and translated works (mostly from Arabic, Urdu, and English). They also ‘developed recommendations for spelling and punctuation, many of which are now followed by Pashtun writers. An example of one of these recommendations is the spelling of retroflex ig] as. rather than ‘4 parallel Pashto Academy began in Peshawar in the 1950's, for the purposes of developing the Pashto spoken in Pakistan, engaging in and publishing research on the language, and translating important and interesting works into Pashto, Recently, the publications of the Peshawar academy have reflected the standardizations recomm-nded by the Kabul academy, although in generat, written Pakistani Pashto tends to reflect. influences from English and Urdu. History of its study. As we mentioned above, Pashto dues not have @ grammatical tradition. Such traditions ares rasult of interest on the part of @ 8 21Chopter 1: Pashto and the Pashhune Janguage’s sneakers in grammar in general, and the grammer or structure of thet Tenguage in particular. English and the major European ianguages have long grammatical traditions, as does Arabic, and such traditions have ylelded widespread agreement on matters like the number of noun classes, the names of tenses, and even Whether @ eet of vards is merely irregular or constitutes @ special class, These agresmants have been arrived at through articles and books that have proposed analyses, arguments against the proposed analyses, re-analyses and continuing arguments until eventually @ consensus is reached. Peshto grammatical studles are still In their infancy, and consensus has nat been reached on any but tha most obvious elements of Pashto grammar. Despite a long literary tradition, Pashtuns themselves have not been widely interested in the grammar of their language. During the nineteenth century, however, ‘when Russia and Great Britain both had political and territorial Interests in the Pashto- peeking area, solcters and administrators on both sides found it necessary to deal with Pashtuns and to learn Pashto. There are, correspondingly, a number of grammars of Pashto written in Russian end English dating from this period. These vary greatly in quality end accuracy, depending on the amount of Pashto learned by thelr authors, their ‘authors’ general educational ang lingutstic backgrounds, and the sophistication of the Pasntuns who rved as the authors’ consultants on the lenguage. The most interesting of the Pashto grammars tn English ts Lorimer’s Pashtu: Part 14 a sentence from Its preface 1s quoted above), which describes the spoken language. Lorimer's lyses are reminiscent of Latin grammar, but are still valuable: his transertption system accurately reflects the pronunciation of his Pashtun consultants, and his anzlyses show great insight into the lenguage, After sndia’s independence and the end of the rivalry between Britain and Russia, political interest in the Pashtuns waned. With it the need for foreigners to speak Pashto lessened, and western interest tn grammatical aspects of the language diminished. At the same time, the academies mentioned above focused their limited resources an matters more crucial than grammatical study, in particular tssues of spelling stondardization and dictionary development. After the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, there was renewed political interest in the Pashtuns on the part of western powers, and therefore a resumption of interest in Pasnto. Included in the results of that interest are saveral Pashto-Russian dictionaries and grammatical sketches, and tha reference grammar you are holding in your hands 4 Part 2 wes unfortunately never completed 9 22Chapter 4: Pashta and the Pashtans Below are listed the most readily available or interesting general grammatical studies of Pashta in English. Most of the early British grammars have been reprinted, and are avaliable In boakstores in Pakistan, Lorimer, D.L.R. 1915. Pashtu Part 1: Syntax of <. .ovial Pasntu, with chapters on the Persian and indtan elements in the modern language. Oxford: Clarendan Press. Penal, Herbert. 1955, A grammar of Pasnto: A descriptive study of the dtelect of Kandahar, Afghantsten. Program in Oriental Languages, Publications Series 8 - Aids - Number 2, Washington, D.C: American Council of Learned Socteties. Mackenzte, ON. 1967. ‘Pashto’. In The Wortd's Major Languages, Bernard Comrie, ed New Vork: Oxfard University Press, Shafeey,D. A. 1964 A Short Grammatical Outline of Pashto, Transtated tram the Russian by Herbert H. Paper. The Hague Mouton & Co 10 23Chapter 2: Pronunciation A. Introduction In this chapter, we will describe the consonants and vowels of the central dialect, ana the ways in which these sounds may combine to form words, Wa will also describe the ways that the Kendahar and Ningraher dislects of Pashto ciffer from the central atalect. Each example Is given with its Pashto spelling, its transcription in square brackets, end Its English transtation or gloss, in single quote marks, es in the following exemple: ‘grendtather (D808 | The transcription shows the stress in words of more than one syllable, by means of the symbol “ placed over the vowel of the stressed syllable. The roman symbols that are used ta represent the Pashto sounds tn the transcriptions have been chosen to make them easter for the English-speaking student of Pashto to remember. Although most. symbols represent one and only one Pashto sound, sometimes a double symbol represents 2 singte sound (for example [ch], {dz}, {ts], and {(sh)) in order to minimize the use of unfamiitar symbols. Because the English spelling system has only five vowel symbals, and Pashto has nine vowels, representation of the vawel system requires the use of unfamttier symbols {a}, {2}, (8), and {ul in addition to the famtIter fel, fe, 11, fol, and [ul B. Consonants We will first discuss the consonants of Pashto fram the point of view of the English speaker, and after that discuss thelr phonological characteristics in more technical terms. ‘There are thirty-two consonants in the Central dialect. They are grouped below according to their resemblance to English consonants, with the retroflax consonants listed separately, Consonants similar to English consonants, (bl as tn poy, cu: ‘other (ball fp, ‘grandfather’ [bevel bly Ichl as tn church, teacher: ‘where’ [chérel © spp. ‘ett’ {chap > az} a8 tn dads, adze. ‘seit {dz8n! «L2, ‘place’ [dz8yl «glo {tl a8 tn tire, if: ‘bre Ita. Al gg 935. pronunciation’ (telat) Jabs 24Chapter 2: Pronunciation {gl as tn go, jug: ‘tall’ (jag) Sy, ‘Tlower tgwall JS Uhl as tn Bat, Deneve: ‘nine’ [néhol 43, also" (nom a Uf as in judge, edge: “good [Jor] y y=, ‘war’ [Jang] San. {kl as tn car, coke: ‘work’ [kar] 1S, ‘house’ [kor] , 9S Im] a8 tn cyor, pump: ‘mother mor] ype, hello [sel Srn] Soe lol as tn gfe, angle: ‘curtain’ [pardél 23 yy, ‘lett’ [chap] x {s] a8 im go, city. “hana {188] G4, ‘reo [surl 5 yp {ahl as in snow, push: “six” [shpagl yo, "twenty smal] J Its] as in cuts, gutsy: ‘how many’ Itso} y&, ‘how’ {tsénga] «S24 Iw] as in watt, kiaet: ‘say’ [wSwAyal t i k a | Voiced b a 4 a Nasals m a 4 ng Ericatives voiceless qos sh, x kn h Voiced 2 an 2 Affricates Voiceless te | ch Voteed a | 4 Others Votceless 1 Voiced w r y c 1 For an explanation of tne terms used hare, see a general introduction to phonetics or phonology such as Peter Ladefoged's A Course in Phonetics. Chicago: University af Chicago Press, 1975 13 26Chapter 21 Pronunciation ‘Technical descriotions: Io}: votceless bilabial ston. {b]- votced aitabial stop. It) votcetess dental stop. la). voiced dental stop. Wh votcetess retroftex stop Igh: voiced retroftex stop, Ik}. voiceless velar stop. gl: voiced velar stop. Some Central aielect [gis - those spelled with the letter 9 7 af pronaunced differently in ather dialects. [ak votced aspirated uvular stop, 11ke [al 5 in Arabic. [4] influences the sound quality of vowels coming before or after It. [al occurs only in borrowed words [7h giottel stop. imi voiced bilabial nasal Ink: voiced dentat nasal [pk voiced retratiex nasal. (pl does not accur at the beginnings of words. Ingh: voiced velar nasal, as in English hanger but not ringer. Ifk voiceless labio-dentel fricative. {f] occurs only in borrowed words, and 1s frequently repleced by {pl in informal or uneducated speech, The ‘ability te pronounce [fl ts @ mark of erudition among Pashtuns. Educated Pashto speakers therefore accastonally ‘hypercorrect', pronouncing even ordinary [pl as (1 [s} voiceless dental fricative. {2 votced dental fricetive, Some central dislect [z's - those that are spelted with the letters, - are pronounced differently in other Pashto dialects, Ishl: voiceless peletal fricetive, [xl voiceless pelatal (or front velar) fricative, Othér dialects have different sounds where the central dialect nas {xl Unk: voiceless valer fricative, similar to German ch. [kh] also occurs in Persian and Arabic, Ighl: voiced velar fricative, like Persian or Arabic {gh Ink: votcetess glottal fricative. {hl occurs onty at the beginnings of words or syilables, {fl: voiceless pharyngeal fricative, occurring in Dorrowed words only (9) volced pharyngeal fricative, occuring in borrowed words only.Chapter 2: Pronunelation tsk: vateeless dental aftricate [d2k: votced dental aftricate (chk: votcetess palatal aftricate. (Jk votced palatal affricate Ul: votced dental lateral [rk votced dental tap or tritt {ck voiced retrofiex flap. [wl voiced bilabial semi-vowsl, the consonantel form of {ul {yk votced palatal semi-vowsl, the consonantal form of {1}, Non-native Pashto consonants. The sounds {fl {al {Rl and [9] are not native Pasnto sounds. They occur in words borrowed mostly {rom Arabic and Persian, but also ‘in words borrowed from other languages as well. In the informal speech of educatad Pashtuns, and in formal and informal speach of uneducated Pashtuns, [f] is pronounced as {pl [al 1s pronounced as [k] (although Pashtuns growing up in areas where there is extensive interaction with Dart speakers will often heve {ql exclusively in the words), and {fl and (9] are dropped altogether. Some examples ant Educated, formal Uneducatog normal sronunciation, eonwnciation tk" eropt aad (rés001 (oésa11 Farsi’ (sw 6 itarst) (oarstl aitference’ 5.55 trarql {oarql fg) unity’ Gls! tiga ir) progress’ gi 5 lteragtl ltaraki} ‘dommand'Ls Lis {tegd28] (takgza] If: ‘even’ stm (hata) {ata} government’ + ySm ——fukumét] tukumsti slaughtered’ JyJXa ——‘halSlawsil (alatawst] (a: ‘public’ re Ip8m) lam) arab’ 56 (paréo) laréo) modern’ g par tase] lesetl ‘region’ <3 Me (2 atagai (alaaél 45