Pashayi language

Pashayi or Pashai is a group of languages spoken by the Pashai people in parts of Kapisa, Laghman, Nuristan, Kunar, and Nangarhar Provinces in Northeastern Afghanistan. It belongs to the Dardic branch of the Indo-Aryan languages. Most speakers are bilingual in Pashto with a literacy rate of about 25%, with the Pashayi languages having no written form prior to 2003. There are four mutually unintelligible varieties, with only about a 30% lexical similarity:

• Northeastern: Aret, Chalas (Chilas), Kandak, Kurangal, Kurdar dialects
• Northwestern: Alasai, Bolaghain, Gulbahar, Kohnadeh, Laurowan, Najil, Nangarach, Pachagan, Pandau, Parazhghan, Pashagar, Sanjan, Shamakot, Shutul, Uzbin, Wadau dialects
• Southeastern: Damench, Laghmani, Sum, and Upper and Lower Darra-i-Nur dialects
• Southwestern: Ishpi, Isken, Tagau dialects