Pashto phonology
phonology of the Pashto language
Amongst the Iranian languages, the phonology of Pashto is of middle complexity, but its morphology is very complex.
Consonants
1. The voiced velar nasal /ŋ/ is not represented by a separate letter in the Pashto alphabet, but naturally occurs as an allophonic variant of the voiced alveolar nasal /n/ before velar consonants.2. The voiceless uvular plosive /q/ (ق) and the voiceless labiodental fricative /f/ (ف) primarily appear in loanwords borrowed from Persian of Arabic origin. In Pashto, the former tends to be replaced with the voiceless velar plosive /k/ or the voiceless velar fricative /x/, and the latter tends to be replaced with the voiceless labiodental plosive /p/.3. The voiced /d͡z/ (ځ) and voiceless alveolar affricates /t͡s/ (څ) remain in the Kandahar (Southwestern) and Quetta (Southeastern) dialects, as well as among majority of the Karlani dialects. In the Derajat region, these respectfully tend to be simplified to the voiced /d͡ʒ/ and voiced palato-alveolar sibilant affricates /t͡ʃ/. Whereas in the Northwestern and Northeastern Dialects, they are simplified to the voiced /z/ and voiceless alveolar fricatives /s/.4. The voiced postalveolar fricative /ʒ/ (ژ) exists within the majority of Pashto dialects, but changes to the voiced alveolar fricative /z/ in the Derajat region and the Northwestern Dialect, and to the voiced palato-alveolar sibilant affricate /d͡ʒ/ in the Northeastern Dialect, specifically in Peshawar and Swat.5. The Pashto letters (ږ) and (ښ) have the most variation in pronunciations; from the archaic Kandahar (Southwestern) voiced /ʐ/ and voiceless retroflex sibilant fricatives /ʂ/, which had shifted to the voiced /ʝ/ and voiceless palatal fricatives /ç/ in the Northwestern Dialect, and from it to the voiced velar plosive /g/ (through phonological fortition/stop reinforcement) and the voiceless velar fricative /x/ in the Northeastern Dialect.
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