Pashayi languages
Pashayi or Pashai is a group of languages spoken by the Pashai people in parts of Kapisa, Laghman, Nuristan, Kunar, and Nangarhar provinces in Northeastern Afghanistan. It belongs to the Dardic branch of the Indo-Aryan languages. The Pashayi languages had no written form prior to 2003. There are four mutually unintelligible varieties, with only about a 30% lexical similarity:
- Northeastern: Aret, Chalas, Kandak, Korangal, Kurdar dialects
- Northwestern: Alasai, Bolaghain, Gulbahar, Kohnadeh, Laurowan, Najil, Nangarach, Pachagan, Pandau, Parazhghan, Pashagar, Sanjan, Shamakot, Shutul, Uzbin, Wadau dialects
- Southeastern: Damench, Laghmani, Sum, Upper and Lower Darai Nur, Wegali dialects
- Southwestern: Ishpi, Isken, Tagau dialects
A grammar of the language was written as a doctoral dissertation in 2014.
