Pashto

Pashto (پښتو Pax̌tō) is the native language of the ethnic Pashtun people who are found primarily in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is an Iranian language, belonging to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. Pashto is one of the two official languages of Afghanistan, and is also spoken in parts of Pakistan. Pashto is written in a modified form of the Arabic script. There are two main dialects of Pashto: Northern Pashto and Southern Pashto. The vast majority of Pashtun people are bilingual, speaking both Pashto and Dari (the variety of Persian spoken in Afghanistan). Pashto has a rich literary tradition, and is the language of some of the most famous poets in Afghan history, such as Khushal Khan Khattak and Rahman Baba. Pashto is also spoken by the Pashtun diaspora around the world, particularly in the Middle East, Europe and North America.