Dialects of Pashto Language.

Pashto dialects are divided into two varieties, the "hard" northern variety Pax̌to, and the "soft" southern variety Paṣ̌to.

Each variety is further divided into a number of dialects. The southern dialect of Wanetsi is the most distinctive of the dialects.

The geographic dividing line between the southern and the northern variety passes through the Urozgan, Zabul, and Paktika provinces of Afghanistan, then cuts across the Durand Line border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and runs further north-eastwards to the Kohat and Nowshera districts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.

The hard Pax̌to is spoken in eastern and northeastern Afghanistan, central, northern, and eastern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and northern and central Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

The soft Paṣ̌to is spoken to the south of it, in southern and western Afghanistan, northern Balochistan, southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and southern Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

Ethnologue divides Pashto into Southern Pashto, Northern Pashto, Central or Wanetsi Dialect of Pashto.

1. Southern Variety of Pashto.

◾Kandahari dialect (or Southern dialect)

◾Kakar dialect (or Southeastern dialect)

◾Shirani dialect

◾Marwat–Lodi–Bettani dialect

◾Southern Karlani group

◾Khattak dialect

◾Banuchi dialect

◾Masidwola dialect

◾Wazirwola dialect

2. Northern Variety of Pashto.

◾Northern Karlani group

◾Taniwola dialect

◾Khosti dialect

◾Zadran–Mangal dialect

◾Afridi dialect

◾Bangash–Turi–Zazi dialect

◾Khogyani dialect

◾Wardak dialect

◾Ghilji dialect (or Northwestern dialect)

◾Northern dialect (or Eastern dialect)

◾Yusufzai dialect (or Northeastern dialect)

3. Central or Wanetsi Dialect of Pashto.

Literary Pashto, or Standard High Pashto, is the standardized variety of Pashto developed by Radio Television Afghanistan and Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan in Kabul.

It's phonetics are based on the Central Pashto dialect (also called Northwestern Pashto), which is spoken in the central Ghilji region (Kabul, northern Wardak, Logar, Ghazni, Gardez, and some other areas in the vicinity), but its vocabulary also derives from the Kandahari dialect.

It has adopted neologisms to coin new terms from already existing words or phrases and introduce them into the Pashto lexicon.

This, Educated Standard Pashto is learned in the curriculum that is taught in the primary schools in the country. It is used for writing and formal spoken purposes and in the domains of media and government.

Regional Standards of Pashto.

There are several regional standard forms of Pashto, which have high prestige, and serve as a means of communication between the various tribal communities in those regions.

Kandahari Regional Standard.

Kandahari Pashto, also called Southern Pashto, is the prestige variety of Pashto in southern and western Afghanistan, and the Balochistan province of Pakistan.

Northern Regional Standard

Northern Pashto, also called Eastern Pashto, is the prestige variety of Pashto in eastern and northeastern Afghanistan, and the northern part of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. This dialect is mostly same to Yusufzai or Peshawari Pashto.

Yusufzai or Peshawari Regional Standard

Yusufzai Pashto, also called Peshawari or Northeastern Pashto, is the prestige variety of Pashto in central, northern, and eastern parts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.