Languages – Summary

This lesson provided you a basic overview of the most widely spoken languages in Afghanistan and a realization that there are major variants and dialects specific to various regions throughout the country.  You will recall:

• Between 35 and 47 languages and dialects are spoken throughout the country
• Both Pashto and Dari are considered the “official” languages
• Both Dari and Pashto come from the Indo-European family of languages
• Dari is the language most used in business and government
• Pashto and Dari are written with a variant of the Arabic alphabet