Dari is the local name for the variety of Persian spoken in Afghanistan. It is the major language of the country and is spoken in the northern and western parts including the capital Kabul in the east. Approximately 60% of the population of Afghanistan, speaks Persian, with bilingualism widespread. It is the primary language of the Tajik, Hazara, and Chahar Aimak peoples. The language serves as the means of communication between speakers of different languages in Afghanistan. Persian (فارسی), (local name in Iran and Afghanistan: Fârsi), Pârsi (older local name, but still used by some speakers), Tajik (a Central Asian dialect) or Dari (Another local name in Afghanistan), is a language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Bahrain and Uzbekistan. ... Kabul (Kâbl, in Persian کابل) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan with a population variously estimated at 2 to 4 million. ... The Tajiks are one of the principal ethnic groups of Central Asia, and are primarily found in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. ... The Hazara ethnic group resides mainly in the central Afghanistan mountain region called Hazarajat. They make approximately 20% of Afghanistans population. ... The Aimak (or Eimak, Aimaq) are a Persian-speaking nomadic or semi-nomadic tribes of a mixed Iranian and Mongolian stock inhabiting the north and north-west Afghan highlands immediately to the north of Herat. ...

The syntax of Afghanistan's Persian does not differ greatly from Iran's Persian (locally called Farsi), but the stress accent is less prominent in Afghanistan's Persian than in Iran's Persian. To mark attribution, spoken Afghan Persian uses the suffix -ra. The vowel system also differs from that of Iranian Persian, to some degree.

Some people don't consider Dari itself to be a dialect or a language. They consider it to be the written language (written Persian, with no dialects), while they consider Farsi the spoken language (spoken Persian, which has many different dialects). It is also believed by some, that Dari should not be called Afghan Persian, because:

• it has existed centuries before the creation of Afghanistan
• the term is also used by certain Tajikistani and Iranian schollars to refer to the language, including Mahmoud Dowlatabadi
• Afghan (in its original meaning) refers to Pashtuns only, who do not speak Persian but Pashto

Therefore, Dari can be considered a synonym for Persian language . The Pashtuns (also Pushtun, Pakhtun, or ethnic Afghan; in referring to the period of the British Raj or earlier, sometimes Pathan) are an ethnic/religious group of people, living primarily in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India who follow Pashtunwali, their indigenous religion. ... Pashto (پښتو; also known as Afghan, Pushto, Pashto, Pashtoe, Pashtu, and Pukhto) is the language spoken by the ethnic Afghan otherwise known as the Pashtun people who inhabit Afghanistan and the Western provinces of Pakistan. ... Persian (فارسی), (local name in Iran and Afghanistan: Fârsi), Pârsi (older local name, but still used by some speakers), Tajik (a Central Asian dialect) or Dari (Another local name in Afghanistan), is a language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Bahrain and Uzbekistan. ...

This variety of Persian spoken in Afghanistan is distinct from the language of the Zoroastrians who live in Yazd and Kerman, Iran, which is also called Dari (or Gabri). Zoroastrianism was adapted from an earlier, polytheistic faith by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) in Persia very roughly around 1000 BC (although, in the absence of written records, some scholars estimates are as late as 600 BC). ... Yazd or Yezd (In Persian: یزد), is one of the most ancient and historical cities of Iran. ... External links Iran Chamber Societys page on Kerman Tourist information on Kerman Photos of historic sites in Kerman Categories: Iran geography stubs | Cities in Iran ... Dari is the language of the Zoroastrians of Iran. ...

External links

Dari Alphabet (www.afghan-web.com) (http://www.afghan-web.com/language/dari.html)