Some Famous And Unique Things About Afghanistan
The official languages of Afghanistan since 2004 are Dari (Farsi-Kabuli, one of the Indo-European languages of the Iranian group), Pashto, or Pashto (one of the Eastern Iranian, or Pamir, languages), and Uzbek (the language of the Turkic group).
Dari is spoken by about 50% of the population, Pashto by 35%, and Uzbek by about 15%. However, in reality, almost three dozen languages of three language groups are used in the territory. The northern provinces (Balkh, Faryab, Badghis, Samangan, Badakhshan) are densely populated by the peoples of the Turkic group, so Uzbek is more often used in everyday communication, or rather, its local dialect, saturated with borrowings from Dari and Pashto (the Latin script is used). In the northern and central provinces, Dari is widespread, in the eastern and southeastern regions - Pashto (Arabic script with some local elements). Also in some provinces, Hindi, Sikh, Hazara dialect of Dari, Tajik, Turkmen and others are used. Many Afghans speak two or three languages. The official languages are Persian (also called Dari) and Pashto, both of which belong to the Iranian group of the Indo-European language family.
The Persian language spoken by the Tajiks, Hazaras and Aimaks is not very different from the Persian you will hear in Iran.
The Pashto language is divided into two main dialects. It is also spoken in large areas of Pakistan. Despite various government initiatives to promote the Pashto language, Persian is still the preferred language among educated people and the urban population.
Tourist languages occupy an intermediate position between the Iranian and Indian groups. The Turkic languages are represented by Uzbek, Turkmen and Kyrgyz, which are spoken mainly in the north of the country. The Arab enclaves have practically disappeared.
It was an ancient center of trade and migration, and the country has always played an important role in the cultural, economic and political relations in the region. The multinational population of the republic speaks several dialects, but only two are the official languages of Afghanistan - Dari and Pashto.
"Afghan" in Persian means "silence" or "silence". This is the external name of the people, like the word "German" in Russian, meaning that a person does not speak "our way", he is "mute".
Both official languages of Afghanistan belong to the Iranian group of the Indo-European language family.
The Dari language in the country is spoken by about half of the population.
According to various sources, Pashto is accepted as the official language by 35% -40% of Afghans.
The third most common language in the republic was Uzbek. Almost 9% of citizens speak it. This is followed by Turkmen - 2.5% of the inhabitants speak it at home.
Afghanistan is not the most popular country among foreign tourists, but if you happen to be there, keep in mind that no more than 8% of the population speaks English and these people live only in the capital.
On the southern borders
Pashto is in circulation in the southern regions of Afghanistan and in the southeast. It is represented by a large number of dialects, and its speakers are called Pashtuns. The written culture of the Pashtuns began to develop only in the 16th century.
Despite the obvious division of the population into two groups, a sufficient percentage of the country's population speaks two state languages of Afghanistan at once. On April 15, a delegation from the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan visited MADI. The delegation included Professor Mohammad Sayed Kakar - Rector of the Kabul Polytechnic University, heads of departments of the Ministry of Higher Education S.A. Rahmati and Zia Sahil, Ministry of Higher Education Officer Gulrahim Safi and Cultural Attache of the Embassy of Afghanistan Prof. Shah Sultan Akifi.
Kabul Polytechnic University was founded in 1962 with the participation of Soviet specialists and, overcoming the severe consequences of military conflicts and economic problems, is actively developing. Now the university has about 5,500 students studying at 29 departments of 8 faculties, including the faculties of civil engineering and transport.
The leaders of MADI warmly welcomed the guests. Rector of the CPU Prof. M.S. Kakar introduced the members of the Afghan delegation and talked about the education system in his country and his university. From the side of MADI, Vice-Rector L.L. Zimanov and vice-rector A.B. Chubukov spoke about the structure and educational programs of our university, as well as about the history of teaching foreign students. The first students from Afghanistan came to study at MADI in 1967, and since then, about 200 engineers, including 36 candidates of technical sciences and 5 doctors of science, have been trained for the automotive and road industry of the IRA, and more than 400 Afghan students have graduated from the preparatory faculty of MADI. In the current academic year, 13 students from Afghanistan are studying at the main faculties, and it is planned to significantly increase this number in the common interests of our countries.
For half of the members of the Afghan delegation, Russian is the same language of communication as their native language, and live communication continued in the laboratories of the road construction faculty, where Afghan students of MADI answered the questions of the high delegation themselves. At the meeting, many topical issues of promising cooperation were discussed, including the development of academic mobility of students and teachers, the development of inclusive education programs, the admission of Afghan citizens to the preparatory faculty, and the conditions for studying and living for students.
Modern Afghanistan needs qualified engineering and teaching staff. Afghan graduates of MADI support the high prestige of our university, and the demanded specialties and quality of training allow us to consider MADI one of the priority Russian universities that can ensure the development of the Afghan economy.