ភាសាប៉ាស្តូ

ភាសាប៉ាស្តូ (پښتو pax̌tō ; ត្រូវបានស្គាល់ជាប្រវត្តិសាស្ត្រថា អាហ្វហ្គានី (افغاني afğānī) និង បធានី គឺជាភាសាដើមនៃប្រជាជនប៉ាស្តូនៅអាស៊ីខាងនិរតី។ ប៉ាស្តូគឺភាសាមួយក្នុងក្រុមភាសាអ៊ីរ៉ង់ខាងកើត។ ភាសាប៉ាស្តូគឺភាសាមួយក្នុងចំណោមភាសាផ្លូវការពីរនៃប្រទេសអាហ្វហ្គានីស្ថាន។

Pashto (پښتو pax̌tō ; alternatively spelled Pakhto, Pushto or Pukhto), also known historically as Afghani (افغاني afğānī) and Pathani, is the native language of the Pashtun people of South-Central Asia. Pashto is a member of the Eastern Iranian languages group. Pashto is one of the two official languages of AfghanistanConstitution of Afghanistan – Chapter 1 The State, Article 16 (Languages) and Article 20 (Anthem) (the other being Dari), and is also spoken as a regional language in western and northwestern Pakistan and among the Pashtun diaspora around the world.

Pashto belongs to the Northeastern Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian language family,Nicholas Sims-Williams, Eastern Iranian languages , in Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition, 2010. "The Modern Eastern Iranian languages are even more numerous and varied. Most of them are classified as North-Eastern: Ossetic; Yaghnobi (which derives from a dialect closely related to Sogdian); the Shughni group (Shughni, Roshani, Khufi, Bartangi, Roshorvi, Sarikoli), with which Yaz-1ghulami (Sokolova 1967) and the now extinct Wanji (J. Payne in Schmitt, p. 420) are closely linked; Ishkashmi, Sanglichi, and Zebaki; Wakhi; Munji and Yidgha; and Pashto." although Ethnologue lists it as Southeastern Iranian. The number of Pashtuns or Pashto-speakers is estimated to be 40–60 million people worldwide.