The official language of Afghanistan
Pashto is the official language of Afghanistan but in most government
offices and public buinesses, Fari is used. Pashto has a history, which backdates to 3000 BC. According to
recent US government estimates, approximately 76 percent of the Afghan population speaks Pashto, and about 19 percent
speaks Dari. Turkic languages (Uzbek and Turkmen) are spoken by about 5 percent of the population. There are also numerous
other languages spoken in the country (Baluchi, Pashai, Nuristani, etc.), and bilingualism is very common.
Pashto is written primarily with the Arabic alphabet, however, there are
some modifications. Pashto literature saw a massive rise in development in the 17th century, mostly due to poets like Khushal
Khan Khattak, who is known today as the national poet of Afghanistan. Other noteworthy Pashto poets in history were Rahman
Baba, and the founder of the modern Afghan nation, Ahmad Shah Abdali.
Dari also has very little literature. Dari poems by Jalaluddin Rumi
have been translated from its original Dari versions to numerous other languages, and is widely read even in the west. But
many powerful kingdoms of the past such as those of the Moghuls in India, primarily used Pashto in their royal courts.
