Pashto Dialects

Video Transcript

(Note: This transcript has been edited for readability.)

“In Pashto we have two “khe” / “she” actually, which one is pronounced “khe.” And some people pronounce it like “khe.” “khe” like a kind of snake sound. Southern people, they pronounce both “shin” (Arabic letter) like “she” sound. So if that word that started with “khe” and you pronounce it "she," then you know he’s not from center or from eastern. Like, “sheye ma,” “sheye ma” means, “I am fine.” Center people, central people and eastern, they say “kheye ma” or “KHeye ma.” But southern they say “sheye ma.” Or like, “shey ey?” “Are you okay?” They say, “khey ey?” So, that’s the difference.”

A Pashto speaker discusses differences between Pashto dialects.