Pashto

Pashto (English pronunciation: /ˈpʌʃtoʊ/,rarely /ˈpæʃtoʊ/; Pashto: پښتو Pax̌tō [ˈpəʂt̪oː]), also known in older literature as Afghānī (افغاني) or Paṭhānī, is the South-Central Asian language of the Pashtuns. It's speakers are called Pashtuns, Pathans or sometimes Afghans whether they are from Pakistan or Afghanistan. It is an Eastern Iranian language, belonging to the Indo-European family. Pashto is one of the two official languages of Afghanistan, and it is the second-largest regional language of Pakistan, mainly spoken in the west and northwest of the country. Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) are almost 100% Pashto-speaking, while it's the majority language of province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pashto is the main language among the Pashtun diaspora around the world. The total number of Pashto-speakers is estimated to be 45–60 million people worldwide.

Pashto belongs to the Northeastern Iranian group of the Indo-Iranian branch, but Ethnologue lists it as Southeastern Iranian. Pashto has two main dialect groups, “soft” and “hard”, the latter known as Pakhtu. Pashto spoken in FATA has many distinctive dialects.