Further Reading

Agribusiness Development Teams (ADT) in Afghanistan Handbook

Handbook 10-10
November 2009

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Languages

Chapter 5

While English is the official language established by the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the International Security Assistance Force to be the common language for those working to assist the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (IROA), it is not the common language of Afghans. Dari is the official IROA language, but Pashtu is the language of the Pashtuns, the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan. However, while many Afghans may not know, understand, or speak English, many do know English numbers.

 

Major Ethnic Groups

Afghanistan consists of unique and diverse tribes as shown on the following map:

 

 

The map does not show the complexity of the tribal dispersion through Afghanistan. Within each of the geographic areas are enclaves of almost every tribe. Notice how much of the country is Pashtun and how that ethnicity covers western Pakistan.

Note: The boundary marking the border between Afghanistan and northwest India, which is now Pakistan, was established by the British in 1893 to ensure the Khyber Pass, the Khojak Pass, and the important cities of Peshawar and Quetta were on the India side of the border between Afghanistan and India. This border divided the Pashtun people who are Afghanistan's dominant ethnic group and the world's largest remaining tribal-based society.²

Pashtuns consider themselves true Afghans, and it is in their areas of Afghanistan that are the most unsecure areas and in which agriculture development teams (ADTs) are currently working. Having a translator who speaks Pashtu is beneficial when dealing with farmers and others in the agribusiness community. However, the majority of Afghans do understand Dari.

While Pashtu is the primary language in the ADT area of operations, ADT Soldiers unfortunately received Dari language training and not Pashtu. If possible, find a program that teaches Pashtu. Keep in mind there are some commonalities in Dari and Pashtu.

The following table shows the English to Dari and Pashtu translations of some common phrases:

 

English	Dari	Pashtu
Hello	Sa-laam	Salaam-alay-kum
Goodbye	Baa-maa-ne khu-daa	Khu-die-pa-amaan
Thank you	Ta-shak-kur	Mo-te-shak-ker-am
Yes/No/Ok	Ba-ley/ney/Du-rust	Ba-le/nah/sa-hee
Please	Lut-fan	Meh-ra-baa-ne
Excuse me/I'm sorry	Bu-bakh-sheyn	Wo-bakha
My name is	Na-me ma… as	Z-maa noom
What is your name?	Naa-met chees?	Staa num tsa de?
How are you?	Che-tor has-tee?	Tsenga-ye?
I am fine, thanks, and you?	Khoob has-tum, ta-shak-kur, too che-tor has-tee?	Za-xa-yum, ma-na-na, te-tsenga-ye?
Do you speak English?	Eng-lee-see yaad-daa-ree?	Ta lng-li-si sha-ba-ri ka-wo-lie she?
Good/bad	Khoob/bad	Xa/bad
Left/right	Chap/du-rust or raast	Chap/raast-ta
North/South/East/West	Sha-maal/ju-noob/sharq/gharb	Sha-maal/ju-nub/sharq/gharb
Help me	Ku-ma-kem ko
Help!		Ma-ras-ta
Do you need help?	Too ba ku-mak za-roo-rat daa-ree?	Maa sara marasta wuka
We are Americans	Maa am-ree-kaa-yee has-teym	Mung-Amrikaa-yan-yu
Stop/come here	Es-taad sho/een-ja be-yaa	Wo-d'a-ri-ga/del-ta raa-sha
Stay where you are	Da jaa-yet baash	Pa dzai de wo-da-ri-ga
Put your weapon down	Sa-laa-he-ta ba za-meen baan	Topak de-par-mi-dzaka ki-xiz-de
Lie on your stomach	Roo-ye she-kam da-raaz be-kash	Par makh pre-wo-za
Do not move	Sor na-kho	Har-kat ma-ka-wa

Figure Table 5

 

Additional words that could be useful to learn in both Dari and Pashtu include the following:

• Agriculture products: Rice, wheat, barley, alfalfa, vegetables, eggs, and pomegranates.
• Measurements: Bushel, kilogram, liter, feet, acre, inch, jerib, hectare, centimeter, and meter.
• Animals: Donkey, chicken, camel, cows, sheep, and cashmere.

Endnotes

1. Image taken from Web site "www.hopeforafghanistan.com".

2. Stephen Tanner, "Indomitable Afghanistan," Military History Magazine, August/September 2009.