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